Sit back and think for a moment. How many times have you grabbed your Vita Shade Guide, put the tabs right next to the patient’s teeth, and ended up picking A2 anyway (because it’s always A2) but did all of this with your loupe or overhead chair light on full-beam the entire time? Same, probably more than I’d like to admit. Although it’s nice to have that added illumination, doing so actually gives you a false sense of the true chroma, value, and translucency of the teeth. Using strictly the natural clinic lighting is how shades should always be selected. So next time, don’t forget to turn off your brights…kind of like when you’re driving in fog–but that’s an added pearl we won’t charge you for.
