Contrast and its Impact on Shade
Posted on 06/15/2014
We’ve all experienced that difficult shade...the one where the shade matches the tab, but looks so different in the mouth.
A common reason for this is the natural phenomenon “contrast effect” - the impact that one color has on the perception of another color. Here’s an example:
In this illustration, the inner gray rectangles are identical colors and sizes. However, when viewed against the darker background the inner rectangle looks lighter, and viewed on the lighter background, it looks darker. In addition, they appear to be different sizes.
This visual phenomenon has a direct impact on tooth shade selection. For example, a tooth viewed against a dark gingiva will appear lighter than a tooth viewed against a lighter gingiva. So what can we do to compensate for this?
Here are some helpful ways to deal with contrast effects:
When in doubt, choose a lighter shade. The lab can always stain darker, but going lighter means stripping the porcelain or redoing the crown for Emax or All Zirconia.
Use a Vita Easy Shade machine. It’s a great tool to help set a reference point for the shade. We use it for all custom shades.
Provide a picture. Download our new App to make it easy to take a picture with your phone and add it to the Rx. No email or separate camera needed!