Prosthodontics & Occlusion · patient case question
The definitive crown returns looking too white. Which dimension of colour is most likely responsible?
Patient case: Shade selection for an anterior restoration
Patient: Adult requiring an anterior indirect restoration
Chief complaint: Concerned about the appearance of the definitive crown.
Background: No relevant medical history reported.
Current findings: Shade selection is being carried out against a prepared tooth, using a shade guide.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Value
- A. CORRECT. VALUE is lightness or darkness, and is the dimension the eye judges first and most acutely. A restoration that reads as 'too white' is almost always too high in value. Value is also the hardest error to correct, since it is largely determined by the underlying framework and opaquer, and it is the dimension to match first.
- B. Chroma is saturation — the 1, 2, 3, 4 of the VITA guide. Low chroma contributes to a washed-out appearance, but 'too white' is primarily a value problem.
- C. Excess translucency makes a restoration look greyer and darker, not whiter.
- D. Hue is the basic colour family — the A, B, C or D of the VITA guide. An error here would read as the wrong colour, not simply too white.
Note: In the VITA classical guide, the LETTER is hue and the NUMBER is chroma. So in A3, the 3 denotes chroma.
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