title: Successful shade matching--what does it take?
abstract: Dental practitioners can avoid expensive and embarrassing shade matching errors by learning about the structure and function of the eye and how to control the external and internal factors that affect human vision. The color of objects is identified by the visible light that they reflect; objects can reflect only the light that shines upon them. Eyes sense the hue, intensity, and saturation of light, so lighting of proper intensity and color balance is necessary for consistent, correct shade-matching. Although sunlight is the most common standard for good lighting, in everyday practice, it cannot be used for shade matching because of its extreme variability with weather conditions, time of day, and season of the year. In addition to external factors such as lighting, conditions internal to the observer also play a role in accurate color perception. Color vision confusion (CVC), often called "color blindness," is a serious handicap for dental professionals. The popular assumption is that very few people are afflicted; in fact, all people suffer from some level of color vision confusion. This distortion of visual information can be permanent or transitory. Therefore, controlling these variables can lead to color matching success.
authors.affiliation: Oregon Health Sciences University Battle Ground, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Carsten
mesh_terms: D003118:Color Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003117:Color Vision Defects; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting; D017797:Prosthesis Coloring