Shade Selection Using the VITA Toothguide 3D-Master

The Vita Toothguide 3D-master® is a value-oriented shade guide that offers 26 natural tooth shades (Fig. 26).⁵ It replicates the commonly observed natural tooth shades comprehensively in the scientifically developed tooth color space.⁵ The shade tabs are organized based on 3 parameters: lightness (value), chroma, and hue.⁵ It also permits the creation of intermediate shades by mixing.⁵ The manufacturer-recommended sequence for shade matching includes the following steps:⁵

Fig. 26 - Vita Toothguide 3D Master

Fig. 26 - Vita Toothguide 3D Master

Step 1: Value Selection

The Vita Toothguide 3D-Master shade guide is categorized into 5 groups based on the value and they are denoted by numbers 1 through 5 (Fig. 27a). All the shade tabs belonging to the same group (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) have the same value/lightness level (but vary in chroma and hue.) For example, all shade tabs in the group labeled “2” will have the same value.

Fig. 27a - Vita Toothguide 3D master categorized into 5 groups based on the value.

Fig. 27a - Vita Toothguide 3D master categorized into 5 groups based on the value.

For selecting the value, the arm is bent and the shade guide is positioned approximately 25-30 cm in front of the tooth of interest (Fig. 27b) and then moved from right to left. The value (lightness) is determined first by the selection of a value group that most nearly corresponds with the lightness or darkness of the reference tooth. Rather than picking a single shade tab (from the 26 tabs), a “group of shades” (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) with the same value that matches the tooth of interest is selected.

Fig. 27b - The shade guide is positioned in front of the tooth/teeth of interest.

Fig. 27b - The shade guide is positioned in front of the tooth/teeth of interest.

Step 2: Chroma Selection⁵

After selecting the value, chroma is selected next from the shade tabs placed in the “M” section of the chosen value group. For example, if the lightness level selected is “2” in Step 1, the shade samples with the middle hue (M) from the selected lightness level are removed and spread out like a fan. Then the chroma level 1, 2, or 3 is selected from this group of shade tabs (Fig. 28).

Fig. 28 - The shade samples with the middle hue (M) from the lightness level 2 are spread out like a fan to determine the chroma.

Fig. 28 - The shade samples with the middle hue (M) from the lightness level 2 are spread out like a fan to determine the chroma.

Step 3: Hue selection⁵

Next, the hue is selected by checking whether the reference tooth/teeth is/are more yellow (L) or red (R) by using the L and R shade tabs from the same value group (Fig. 29).

Fig. 29 - The hue is selected by using the L and R shade tabs from the selected value group.

Fig. 29 - The hue is selected by using the L and R shade tabs from the selected value group.

Step 4: Determination of intermediate shades⁵

Occasionally, achieving a precise shade match requires selecting an intermediate shade of value and/or chroma. If a tooth shade falls between two shade samples, an intermediate shade can be defined. For example, a shade of 3.5M2 may be used to indicate that the lightness level is between 3 and 4 and the chroma level is M2. Similarly, a shade of 1M1.5 may be used to indicate that the lightness level is 1 while the chroma level is between M1 and M2.