Shade Selection Using the VITA Classical Shade Guide

The VITA classical is the most commonly used shade guide. It has 16 natural tooth shades.⁵⁵ The manufacturer-recommended sequence for shade matching includes the following 4 steps:¹

Step 1: Hue Selection¹

There are four hue categories (A, B, C, and D) in the Vita Classical shade guide.¹ Shade tabs denoted by the letter A have a reddish brown hue; the shade tabs denoted by the letter B have a reddish-yellow hue; the shade tabs denoted by the letter C have a greyish hue and the shade tabs denoted by the letter D have a reddish-grey hue.^4,7,28 Thus all the shade tabs that are marked with the letter A including shade tabs A1, A2, A3, A3.5, and A4 will have the same hue. The same holds for all the shade tabs marked with letters B, C, and D.

Step 1: Hue Selection¹

When selecting the hue, the entire shade guide is held above (for mandibular teeth)/below (for maxillary teeth) the tooth of interest (Fig. 22) and moved from left to right. The hue that is closest to the tooth/teeth of interest is selected. If the intensity of chroma on the natural tooth is low, it becomes very tricky to select the proper hue. In that situation, the area of the tooth with the most intense chroma is used for the hue selection.

Step 2: Chroma selection

After selecting the hue, the next step involves choosing the appropriate chroma.¹ For example, if a B tab is selected for the hue, then chroma is selected from the four gradations within the B tabs: B1, B2, B3, and B4 (Fig. 23a).¹ Several comparisons are usually necessary to determine the most appropriate hue and corresponding chroma (Fig. 23b). The practitioner should reset his/her eyes by looking at a neutral gray surface/object if the process is taking longer than 5-7 seconds.¹

Fig. 23a - Gradations of chroma within the B-shade tabs

Fig. 23a - Gradations of chroma within the B-shade tabs

Fig. 23b - Shade tab with the most optimal hue and the corresponding chroma is selected

Fig. 23b - Shade tab with the most optimal hue and the corresponding chroma is selected

Step 3: Value selection

The value should be selected by using a value-oriented shade guide with shade tabs arranged in order of increasing darkness.¹ A value-oriented shade guide is created by arranging the shade tabs of the Vita classical shade guide in the following order: B1 (lightest), followed by A1, B2, D2, A2, C1, C2, D4, A3, D3, B3, A3.5, B4, C3, A4, and lastly C4 (darkest) (Fig. 24).⁵⁶

Fig. 24 - Shade tabs arranged in order of increasing darkness

Fig. 24 - Shade tabs arranged in order of increasing darkness

The value-oriented guide is held above (for mandibular teeth)/below (for maxillary teeth) the tooth of interest and moved from left to right. The practitioner can then select the shade tab that matches the value of the natural tooth.

The value should be determined by observing the guide and teeth to be matched from a distance (by standing slightly away from the chair) and squinting.¹ Squinting reduces the amount of light reaching the eye thereby increasing the sensitivity of the retinal rods (and decreasing the stimulation of the retinal cones).¹ Additionally, black-and-white images may be used to verify the selected value (Fig. 25).

Step 4: Final Check In this step, the practitioner should verify that the selected hue, chroma, and value are aligned with each other to create an aesthetically pleasing restoration. However, there may be instances when the tabs selected for hue and chroma may not coincide with the shade tab selected for value, this will require that the whole process be repeated from the beginning.

Fig. 25 - A black and white image is used for verifying the selected value.

Note:The selected shade tab appears lighter (has a higher value) than the reference tooth.

Fig. 25 - A black and white image is used for verifying the selected value.

Note:The selected shade tab appears lighter (has a higher value) than the reference tooth.