How Dentists Match a Dental Crown to Natural Teeth

Colour Comes First, But It Isn’t the Whole Story

Dentists tend to take the shade of your own teeth as a guide before prepping the tooth for restoration. This is because adjacent teeth offer the best reference and they consider the shade under normal lighting and with the aid of a shade guide.

However, shade matching is rarely as simple as just choosing white. There are subtle variations to natural tooth colour and some teeth are slightly darker near the gum line. Other teeth simply catch the light better in certain places, so ideally a crown should follow the contours in order to mimic these slight differences, instead of being a uniform shade of white.

Getting the Colour Just Right

This next point is perhaps even more crucial. A crown that looks good under the surgical lighting in the dentist’s surgery may not look so good under different lighting conditions, so some dentists may decide to check the shade under different light sources.

Moving On to Shape

While colour is important, the shape of a crown is arguably more so. Your dentist will consider the size and shape of the teeth adjacent to the restoration and they may decide to sculpt the crown so that it doesn’t appear artificially wide or flat.

• Subtle grooves can actually help create a more natural appearance by preventing the crown from reflecting light like a plastic moulding.

• Similarly, the gum line also needs to be taken into consideration as the edge of the crown is often articulated to fit in this area, so that it does not stand out from the surrounding natural teeth.

The Crown’s Material Changes the Look

Different crown materials have different levels of reflectivity, so dentists considering porcelain or ceramic crowns for restoration, as these materials can reflect the same amount of light as natural teeth. Zirconia also appears to be a popular choice, particularly in areas where high chewing force is a concern.

However, the dentist also needs to think about the placement of the crown and the type of force it is likely to experience. So aesthetics is not the sole consideration when choosing between different materials.

Subtle Variations

A dentist may also want to consider whether there are varying levels of translucency in the restoration. Translucent edges are common in natural teeth, particularly in the front teeth, so replicating this is a good way to make a crown look more natural.

• Getting the colour of the gum line just right is also a key consideration, as this is often the part of the restoration most likely to give away a false colour when viewed against a natural tooth.

• Some dentists also incorporate small variations in the colour of the crown, as this is another feature that natural teeth have that dental crowns often lack.

• These variations are often very subtle, but they make a big difference.

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