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picking a shade for dentures

M

mkayy

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
42
i am getting ready to go have my impressions , and on my last visit the assistant was showing me the color chart for the dentures while i was waiting to get fully numb .
and i told her i wanted white teeth and from the color chart i did not see white i dont want snow white bit i want nice looking teeth , i have wanted nice white teeth all my life any ways .
i was wondering is their more shade to chose from then the chart she showed me for dentures .
and i have been told if i go to white they will look fake is this true , i just dont no what color to go with , because once its done its a done deal .i just dont wont to regrete not picking the white shade i am so confused :shame: .
and i have also been told that the dentures will turn color after a few months due to staining .
and is their a way you can whiten the dentures up after they are made .
thanks so much for your help .
 
Re: i need some advise fast

Picking the shade for dentures is an art form in itself, although to be honest it's one of the less important parts of making dentures look good, the position and setting of the teeth is more important.

As a rule of thumb, the shade should be matched to the person's skin tone, swarthier people need a slightly darker shade, fair skinned need a lighter one.

Your dentist should be helping you with this, it's part of the skill of making dentures that you're paying for.

Also you are not stuck with a shade until the denture is finished, the next stage after picking a shade should be with the teeth set in wax, which you should take a very close look at and only if you're happy with the way they look in your mouth, should you go on to finish them.

Maintaining dentures properly will prevent staining. They should be carefully cleaned with a soft nail brush and washing up liquid and warm water. Honestly! Avoid fancy lotions and potions and special denture care products...

At night they should be removed and soaked in a dilute solution of bleach in cold water. Remember to rinse them off before putting them back in!!!!
 
Re: i need some advise fast

Ahh right, I didn't realise you were getting your own front teeth out and immediate dentures fitted. That makes things a wee bit trickier.
The back teeth that are set in wax will give you a rough idea of the colour next to your own natural teeth, ie you can see if they're lighter or darker.
Since you're getting immediate dentures made, then you need to think of them as being temporary, they will need replaced in a year to 18 months normally, so you're not totally stuck with the shade that you pick here.

Replacing your missing back teeth will help fill out your face a bit and should help improve your appearance.

From the photo you have quite fair skin so could get away with a light shade of denture teeth, I can't really give you my ideas because each false tooth manufacturer uses different codes for the different shades, it's most annoying. The most universal shades are the ones used by Vita, so from that guide I'd try something like an A2 shade.

The other advice I can give you is to take someone you trust with you for the try in appointment, probably not a male since we're crap at matching colours :) I almost always get my nurses to check shades for me...
 
Re: i need some advise fast

thanks gordon for your help .
on the color chart i was thinking of going with a B1-p11
but i was wondering if their was even a whiter shade , on a color chart i found on the internet
their was a color PW4 , PW7 white . now these two were not attached to the chart they were above the chart but are for dentures .
i read some where that you can brush your dentures with regular tooth past is this right
but you have to use a denture brush . is the reg tooth past safe on the dentures .
thanks so much for all your help .
i am trying to learn as much as i can about dentures so i will be ready for them .
i go for my impressions this coming thursday .
 
Re: i need some advise fast

Hi, B1 is very white (sort of like a really good result after teeth bleaching) while still just about looking natural. There are also bleached shades (sth like 030, 020), but those would probably look pretty artificial. Even B1 may look too white, but this is largely a matter of personal preference and if your biggest wish is really white teeth, then this may be the shade for you.

I've heard of both people who went with a lighter shade than recommended who were very happy with their choice, and others who then couldn't come to terms with their teeth not looking real. The main thing is that *you* are happy with them.

Just wanted to reassure you though that B1, in reality, looks very white.
 
Re: i need some advise fast

You can't really bandy around shade codes like this bceause all the manufacturers use their own code system. Really the best way to decide is to see some teeth setup in your own mouth, picking off a chart is like picking your hair style out of a magazine (I think, anyone who's seen my hairstyle would know I don't spend much time over it!)

You should NOT use regular toothpaste on dentures, it's far too abrasive and destroys the finish rapidly. Washing up liquid is the best, as well as the cheapest.
 
Re: i need some advise fast

letsconnect said:
Hi, B1 is very white (sort of like a really good result after teeth bleaching) while still just about looking natural. There are also bleached shades (sth like 030, 020), but those would probably look pretty artificial. Even B1 may look too white, but this is largely a matter of personal preference and if your biggest wish is really white teeth, then this may be the shade for you.

I've heard of both people who went with a lighter shade than recommended who were very happy with their choice, and others who then couldn't come to terms with their teeth not looking real. The main thing is that *you* are happy with them.

Just wanted to reassure you though that B1, in reality, looks very white.

is B1 WHITER THEN A1 , i could not tell on the chart
thanks
 
Re: i need some advise fast

Gordon said:
You can't really bandy around shade codes like this bceause all the manufacturers use their own code system. Really the best way to decide is to see some teeth setup in your own mouth, picking off a chart is like picking your hair style out of a magazine (I think, anyone who's seen my hairstyle would know I don't spend much time over it!)

You should NOT use regular toothpaste on dentures, it's far too abrasive and destroys the finish rapidly. Washing up liquid is the best, as well as the cheapest.


gordon you mentioned using washing liquid , what do you mean , dish washing liquid , that we use to wash dishes ?.
thanks gordon for all your help .
 
Re: i need some advise fast

mkayy said:
is B1 WHITER THEN A1 , i could not tell on the chart
thanks

Yes it is whiter (on the Vita Shade thingy anyway), but as Gordon pointed out, things may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I was just assuming that it was the Vita shade guide... the point I was trying to make was that, even though none of the colours you were shown 'looked' white, in reality are very white.

In any event, speaking about teeth 'being whiter' is really an oversimplification, because the effect is made up of different qualities such as hue and translucency... so as mentioned before, best way of figuring out what you like is to actually see the shade in your mouth.

Best of luck!
 
Re: i need some advise fast

thank you both for your help .
i go for my impressions thursday then my dentist will go over every thing with me and show me the color chart , .
i just went looking in through the internet and found a color chart .
this is so very importain to me i have all my life wanted a beauitful smile , straight white teeth .
and finally its coming true :) .
i can not wait until i can smile big and feel good about my self again :jump: .
thank you both so very much for your help :XXLhug: .
 
Re: i need some advise fast

Yes, the liquid detergent stuff you wash dishes with. As in manually wash, not the stuff you put in a dishwasher :)

The shade guides tend to work like this, there's a base colour, say grey, yellow, brown and then different lightnesses of these colours, so Vita C shades have a greyish tint, Vita B's are yellow then the lower numbers are lighter. Does that make some more sense?

As far as the "look" of the finished dentures, the actual shade of the denture teeth isn't really that important, believe it or not.
 
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