What Is a Composite Bonding Colour Chart?

A composite bonding colour chart, or shade guide, is the guide we use to match composite to your tooth so that it's completely invisible.

This is harder than it sounds and needs to be done well to make the composite "disappear".

If we get the shades, or colours, of a tooth wrong when we're adding composite to it, the composite will be visible, and it will be obvious that something's been done to the tooth.

There are lots of different colour charts or shade guides available to dentists for different scenarios, and how we use them varies depending on it.

Composite Bonding Colour Chart Definition

A composite bonding colour chart is a standardised set of samples of composite, shaped like real teeth and used to identify the closest match to a patient's natural tooth colour.

That is the most widely used system is the VITA Classical shade guide, which contains 16 shades organised into four hue groups, or types of colour — A, B, C and D — with each group running from lighter to darker (for example, A1 being lighter and A4 being darker)

In the VITA Classical shade guide, A, B, C and D refer to different hue groups:

• A – reddish-brown

• B – reddish-yellow

• C – grey

• D – reddish-grey

Other systems are related to specific composite systems.

At The Modern Dentist, we usually use a system called Inspiro, which has its own multilayered shade guide that contains enamel and dentin shades, so that we can perfectly recreate the layers that exist naturally within the tooth.

Dr. Mark Flynn

Each shade, or combination of shades, on the chart represents a specific combination of hue (the colour tone), value (brightness), and chroma (intensity or saturation).

Of these three, the value is the most important to get right.

Too light or too dark, the composite bonding will be visible immediately.

We usually use a combination of looking under natural light with the shade tabs next to the teeth, and different types of photographs with a digital camera, including a special filter that removes reflections to help us evaluate the perfect shades.

We still need to use our judgement and experience, as the shade guide is only a guide.

Why Does Shade Selection Matter in Composite Bonding?

Getting the tooth shade, or shades, correct is one of the most important aspects of achieving natural results with composite bonding.

Some teeth have many colours and effects going on within the enamel and dentin (typically very young or very old teeth), and not being able to copy this will make the restoration visible.

Teeth tend to have different levels of translucency and opacity, and gradients in colour, changing from darker to lighter within different parts of the tooth.

Composite can be layered in different shades and opacities to mimic this natural variation, and a skilled dentist will account for this, rather than selecting a single flat colour.

This is the main difference between standard bonding and excellent bonding.

A shade that appears correct under clinical lighting may look different in natural daylight. This is why some dentists check the shade in different light conditions.

At The Modern Dentist, we have lighting in the surgeries that closely mimics daylight to help account for this.

Ideally, we don't want our composite bonding to be visible at all, under any light conditions.

Even a dentist will sometimes miss good composite bonding when they're examining teeth.

How Does the Composite Bonding Shade Selection Process Work?

Choosing the right shade is one of the first and most important steps when planning composite bonding.

Your teeth naturally change colour during your appointment, so accurate shade matching needs to happen before we isolate and prepare your teeth.

• We start by holding VITA shade tabs against your teeth to identify the closest two or three matches.

• We assess both dentin and enamel shades, as natural teeth are made up of different layers and aren't simply one uniform colour.

• We then compare the shortlisted shades side by side against your teeth, making it easier to see which is the closest match.

• We take a series of high-quality photographs with the shade tabs positioned next to your teeth.

• Some photographs are taken using a special filter that reduces reflections, allowing us to see greater depth and detail in the tooth structure.

• We review these images on a large screen, giving us another way to assess the most accurate shade.

• We can also use our intraoral digital scanner to take a digital shade measurement and compare this with our clinical assessment.

• We will normally discuss the selected shades with you before proceeding. If you are planning to whiten your teeth, we may recommend selecting a slightly lighter shade — although whitening is ideally completed before composite bonding.

• Shade selection is a highly developed clinical skill, so we generally recommend that our dental team makes the initial selection rather than asking you to choose the shades yourself.

• For larger cases involving most or all of the visible teeth, the focus shifts from simply matching your existing teeth to creating the overall appearance you want, so we'll spend more time discussing your preferences.

The reason we take all of these steps is that your teeth dehydrate and become noticeably lighter once they are isolated, sometimes within just 15 minutes.

Matching the shade after this has happened could result in composite that looks too light once your teeth rehydrate and return to their natural colour.

By combining clinical assessment, photography and digital scanning, we can make a much more informed decision about the shade before your bonding is placed.

What Factors Affect Which Shade Is Chosen?

The natural colour of the teeth before any treatment is started is our reference point.

This can change with whitening, and we always recommend a period of a few weeks after whitening to allow the colour to settle.

Age has a major influence on tooth colour. Teeth tend to lose their brightness with age, and also often become more complex in terms of translucency due to wear and effects.

So shade-taking in an older patient often takes much longer.

The same applies to very young teeth, which often have higher degrees of translucency in the biting edges.

For bonding on the outside surfaces of front teeth, choosing the correct shade is essential.

Whereas, further back in the mouth, where less light is available, it's less critical that it's perfect.

Any habits that lead to staining, like excessive coffee or red wine, or smoking, should be taken into consideration, and the teeth should always be thoroughly cleaned before any bonding to make sure the colour is being matched to the real underlying teeth.

If teeth whitening has never been carried out, the dentist may discuss with you first.

It's always preferable to whiten the teeth before bonding, so that the colour match is done to the whiter teeth, rather than guessing how white the teeth will get.

If you whiten your teeth after bonding, you risk having to replace the bonding if it becomes too visible.

Help patients understand that the shade selection is not a simple tick-box exercise.

Teeth Whitening Before Composite Bonding Treatment: Why the Order Matters

Composite bonding does not change colour at all during teeth whitening.

Therefore, it will stay the same colour while the teeth get whiter and may become more visible.

If you are considering bonding and have not previously whitened your teeth, you should discuss this with your dentist.

Some teeth will change colour very significantly with whitening, so the bonding will look very obvious if it was done before.

Sometimes it can be resurfaced without needing to be replaced entirely, but it's preferable to do the whitening first and avoid this complication.

Once the whitening has been completed, we usually advise a settling period of 2-4 weeks before doing any bonding.

This allows the total removal of any residual whitening agent and also allows the colour to settle fully.

If you have existing composite bonding and you're considering teeth whitening, you should discuss this with your dentist.

If you're not prepared to replace the bonding, it may be better not to do any whitening treatments.

Can the Colour of Composite Bonding Be Changed After Treatment?

The colour of composite bonding can be changed after treatment, but the amount of work involved depends on the issue that requires it to be changed.

It's important to understand that the composite will not change colour with teeth whitening treatments.

If you think the dental bonding treatment you had done is the wrong colour, you should see your dentist again as soon as possible.

Often this can be addressed by a very simple cutting back of the composite and resurfacing it.

If the colour is very wrong, then the entire composite may need to be removed and replaced.

Often older composite bonding starts to look dark and stained compared to the existing teeth.

In these cases, where it can't be freshened up by polishing, we'll usually recommend replacing it.

Does Composite Bonding Change Colour Over Time?

Composite bonding does tend to change colour over time

Good quality composite that's been well bonded and highly polished is much more resistant to colour change, but it can still happen.

Teeth also change colour over time, so sometimes the composite bonding can start to look too light next to the teeth.

This issue can often be addressed with whitening.

Coffee, tea, red wine and smoking can cause surface staining.

But again, with good composite that's been well polished, a simple hygiene visit will often rectify this.

Maintaining a good diet low in sugar and acid, and using a simple teeth whitening toothpaste (like Colgate) and a good electric toothbrush, will help keep your composite bonding looking great for a long time.