Dental crowns are a remarkably versatile treatment. Not only will they be able to repair your tooth after a cavity or root canal, but they can even help cover up certain aesthetic issues.
Have you ever wondered how these dental crowns are made? If you’re getting one soon, it could be helpful to know what will go into crafting your it. In particular, matching the color of your crown to the rest of your teeth requires a lot of care and meticulous planning on the part of your dentist.
For the curious, here’s how your dentist goes about color-matching your dental crown.
Metrics & Measures
The aim of your dentist is to note the color of your teeth as meticulously as possible so that the dental lab can apply it to your dental crown. To do this, they measure the “shade” of your teeth across three factors: hue (which is what we’d normally call “color,” e.g. brown, yellow, or green), chroma (the intensity of the hue), and value (how light or dark the shade is).
First Glance
To pick the correct shade, your dentist will first compare your teeth to a shade guide, which is a thin plastic slab that contains porcelain shards of various colors. They’ll probably do this under natural light, and ask you to wear a gray bib and remove any lipstick to avoid distracting colors.
Double Check
Once your dentist marks down a preliminary shade, they’ll try to get a peer review. This could be as simple as asking a colleague to check the shade guide, but it can also involve the use of sophisticated instruments to help with the selection process. Many dentists will make use of a small device called a spectrometer that uses sensors to detect the exact shade of your teeth.
Take Notes
The final step is for your dentist to consolidate all the information they’ve gathered into a set of notes for them to send to the lab. This will often include drawings and digital photos to give the people making your crown an idea of what to do.
Now that you know everything that your dentist does to make your dental crown, you can appreciate the beautiful smile it’ll give you all the more!
About the Author
Dr. Katherine Parét believes that a good dentist can do more than just fix your teeth. That’s why she’s worked to create a practice that can facilitate their overall health through exercise and wellness programs. Dr. Parét graduated from the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and he has gone through numerous continuing education courses so that she can address a wide variety of issues.
If you have any questions about dental crowns, she can be reached at her website or by phone at (207) 200-4106.