Your Smile

Choosing Tooth Color

The color a patients chooses for his or her new smile is one of the most important factors in a patient being happy with their new appearance. At Dr. Huefner's dental practice, we will make recommendations and suggestions, but we believe that the ultimate choice in teeth color is made by the patient.  If you're not happy, Dr. Huefner isn't happy either.

So, with hundreds of colors and variations, what color will you choose?

Your choice may depend on age, skin color, hair color, number and portion of teeth that can be seen, the color of your other teeth, and many other variables. 

How translucent or opaque your new teeth are will also hugely determine how natural or lifelike they will appear. We usually prefer using a slightly translucent porcelain for that reason.

Here is a typical tooth shade guide used by cosmetic dentists. On the right is the basic range of teeth color found in nature. Of those 16 basic shades, most patients fall somewhere in the middle, but almost always they want a whiter shade towards the left of the spectrum.

On the left are the four bleaching shades that are whiter than found naturally, but these are shades that many patients can achieve by bleaching or having cosmetic dentistry.  Whiter teeth in this range make the patients feel younger, cleaner, more professional, and certainly more attractive. Typically, most smile makeover patients with veneers or crowns choose one of those shades.

From the initial cosmetic dentistry consultation, we spend a considerable amount of time with you discussing tooth shade and color in our quest to create your new "sensational smile". It is just one of the many important things that are taken into consideration when creating the smile of your dreams.