SHADE SELECTION IN PROSTHODONTICS

Selection of the proper shade and color matching of natural dentition continues to be one of the most perplexing and frustrating problems in dentistry. Colour matching can be likened to a gigantic jigsaw puzzle in which each piece must be properly oriented and positioned to achieve the desired result. Colour matching and shade selection of teeth is a blending of art and science. This process requires knowledge of the dimensions of colour as well as the clinical experience in an environment that optimizes the selection process. Inadequate technology to aid shade selection and shade duplication has rendered this part of dentistry more of an art than science. Unlike science, art form is subordinate to the individual abilities of the dentist that influence the predictability and reproducibility of the finished restoration.This skill cannot be thoroughly mastered in the absence of scientific knowledge, nor can it be fully grasped by merely memorizing facts about colour. Together, knowledge and experience provide rewarding solutions to this challenging aspect of dentistry. Thus the dentist, as well as the artist, should be educated in colour to be successful in working with colour.