Tooth Shade

Less than ideal tooth color is the most common complaint amongst individuals unhappy with their smile.⁷ The Munsell color system is used in dentistry to describe tooth color.⁸ The system characterizes the hue, value, and chroma to capture the dimensions of tooth color (Figure 3).⁸ Hue distinguishes between different families of color (i.e., blue versus yellow). Value characterizes the lightness of a color within that particular hue. Chroma describes the degree of color saturation, or brilliance. In dentistry, the hue has been denoted as A through D. While to the untrained eye teeth may all appear to be shades of white, the underlying colors are captured in the description of hues. Shade A describes an underlying reddish brown hue, Shade B is a reddish yellow hue, Shade C is a gray color, and Shade D is a reddish-gray color. Untreated teeth, on average, demonstrate an A3 hue and B1 is considered to be the lightest naturally occurring shade.⁸ Darker tooth shade is associated with increasing age and male gender.^9,10 Most patients judge a lighter tooth shade as more esthetic, but perception of shade may be influenced by skin and lip color, patient age and gender.^11,12 It is also well-established that factors that influence light reflection, including material translucency, fluorescence, and opalescence can alter the perception of shade.^11,12

Figure 3: A three-dimensional representation of the Munsell color system describing hue, value, and chroma within color families.^{8, 87}

Figure 3: A three-dimensional representation of the Munsell color system describing hue, value, and chroma within color families.^{8, 87}