Abstract:

The microesthetics of teeth guide the creation of restorations with pleasing appearance that will blend in. Those aspects of single tooth such as morphology, shade, translucency, opalescence and florescence, texture and gloss, as well as tint and stain characterization are important elements. Individualized esthetic fabrication of appealing ceramic restorations can be achieved only if comprehensive and systematic color and related information were obtained clinically and precisely relayed to the dental technician, which includes the determination of the basic tooth color based on a shade guide in accordance with the porcelain system, individualization of the color and translucency of the incisal edge, precise location and recording of the surface and intrinsic color characterization. By combining information of tooth shape, texture and gloss, all the information is transmitted to the technician by means of series of digital photographs. All these techniques comprise the current mainstream in systematic acquisition and communication of individualized esthetic and chromatic information. The purpose of this article was to provide some basic knowledge on those aspects of individualized esthetic and chromatic information for achieving superior clinical results.

Key words: shade matching, shade communication, color individualization, translucency, esthetic