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Teeth Color and Vita Scale

Teeth Color and Vita Scale

The natural shade of a person's teeth is actually yellowish or grayish, and not snow-white and dazzling white as most people think. It is for this reason that a smile with an unnatural snow-white shade of teeth often looks ridiculous and unnatural. When selecting, for example, a filling material, it is very important to choose the right tone, because the aesthetics of the patient's smile directly depends on this. Natural aesthetics has always been, is and will be at the peak of popularity and demand, so the specialists of the SA-NATA clinic network always strive for the most natural and aesthetic smile result.

Teeth color has always been an indicator of the quality and health of a smile. All teeth have their own shade: fangs, for example, are always darker than incisors, they are darker at the root than at the edge. Therefore, when choosing a shade, all factors should be taken into account, and, ideally, a negative effect on the enamel should be excluded, this will help prevent its staining in the future.

The color of the tooth depends not so much on the enamel itself, but on the quality of the dentin. Dentin, in turn, shines through the enamel and thus we perceive the color of our teeth. Since the thickness of the tooth enamel decreases with age, it becomes more transparent and, accordingly, the dentin is more transparent.

You should also take into account the fact that the surface of our tooth is far from even and smooth, which means that the color and shade in different light can be perceived differently. The perception of tooth color can also be influenced by the shade and color of the skin. Have you noticed that people of the African-American race have whiter and more expressive teeth? Based on this, the more tanned the skin of a person, the whiter his teeth seem.

According to world studies and experiments, it was concluded that teeth of a yellowish tint are best suited for whitening, and teeth of gray shades are the worst.

Another interesting fact: teeth that are slightly lighter than the whites of the patient's eyes look rather unnatural. Therefore, when prosthetics (choosing the color of an orthopedic structure), it is so important to rely not only on the patient’s desire, but also to have an artistic vision of a specialist: take into account the skin tone, the patient’s color type, his hair color, and so on.

For convenience, there is a special Vita color scale, it is with its help that dentists solve the problem of selecting the optimal shade. This scale is presented in the form of a special plastic tape, on which models of human teeth from different materials are attached. There are 16 different shades in this scale.

The Vita scale first became the internationally accepted standard for determining the color and shade of human tooth enamel in 1965. Its creation and emergence was based on many scientific studies on the distribution and perception of tooth color in space.

The Vita scale was invented and developed by the independent German dental company Vita, which has been in existence since 1924. She has become a world-renowned specialist in the field of determining and perceiving the color and shade of teeth. Dental company Vita was the first in the world to describe the colors of natural human teeth from a scientific point of view and document them in a special, commonly understood scale.

This invention provides a unique opportunity to achieve highly aesthetic results in dental treatment.

When choosing a color, the specialist applies one or another shade to your dentition. This makes it easy to determine the desired color. Below we will analyze in what situations this scale can be useful in dentistry and what shades it is divided into.

Vita scale

Vita scale

According to the Vita scale, natural teeth can have only a few shades, indicated by the following letters:

A - reddish brown shades

B - reddish-yellow shades

C - gray shades

D - reddish-gray shades

Along with the letters are numbers from 1 to 4, indicating the intensity and saturation of the color: 1 is the brightest shade, 4 is the darkest. That is, if we are talking about the color of the tooth under the name A1, this means that the color has the lightest shade from the red-brown spectrum. The shade of enamel under the A2 index will be darker than the previous one. For example, color B2 will already correspond to a group of yellowish enamel shades. For the name C1, a more gray shade of the tooth is inherent, and D2 will speak of a reddish-gray scale.

The most effective scale for work is the Vita scale, made of porcelain and ceramic materials.

The perception of color compared with the Vita scale can be influenced by such factors:

  • Office lighting
  • The color and shade of the walls in the room
  • The patient's clothing (if the clothing is dominated by light or bright colors, then the teeth will be perceived much whiter than if the patient was dressed in dark).
  • The effect of fatigue (the so-called “blurred” eye effect in case of overwork of a specialist, in which he cannot accurately assess the real color and shade of the patient's teeth).
  • The patient's skin tone may also be affected (eg tan).

The Vita scale is used:

  • For professional teeth cleaning with ultrasound and Air-flow: after the patient has been rid of plaque, the hygienist must make sure that he has restored the natural color of the crowns.

  • For teeth whitening: the therapist needs a palette to determine how many tones to whiten the enamel and so that the result is as natural and aesthetic as possible.

  • When restoring and filling teeth: in the presence of chips, cracks and other surface defects, it is important that the filling, crown or microprosthesis is not visible on natural dental tissues.

  • When making prosthetics and making orthopedic structures in a dental laboratory (manufacturing of veneers, crowns, inlays, prostheses, and so on).

The Vita scale is used:

Effectively and accurately, the Vita scale will “work” under the following conditions of its use:

  • The process of determining the color of the tooth must be carried out exclusively in daylight and natural light

  • There should be no bright colors around: for example, bright lipstick on the patient's lips or bright colors and elements in clothes

  • Acceptance of the color choice should be done promptly, and it is highly recommended to stick to your initial decision, as the eyes tend to get tired after 5-7 seconds.

  • For accurate color and shade reproduction, it is important to keep the scale neat and tidy and disinfect after each patient.

A professional specialist will help you decide and choose the right shade. Trust the health and beauty of your smile to qualified professionals. We invite you to a free consultation with a therapist and we will be happy to introduce you to the Vita scale!

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