What is the best method in choosing a shade of veneers? (Photos)

Hi:The number one factor that I use in picking shade for veneers is skin tone.  The lighter the skin tone the whiter the shade of the teeth need to be.  At the same time the number of veneers and the color of the rest of the smile plays the role.  If you are covering your entire smile with veneers then you can pick very white shades and it will still look good.Best,Dr. Maddahi

There are numerous systems of shading and for veneers we usually will shade the "brightness" of the tooth shade goal and also shade the natural "stump shade" of the prepared tooth.  I like to use the veneer cement to modify the warmth of the veneer by using Try In cements and then letting the patient see the slight variations .  These are usually a bright white shade/opaque, a shade similar to the veneer guide chosen, a translucent shaded cement/clearness and sometimes a warmer shade/more color.  We can add some of these onto the glaze of the veneer if determined before cementation as well.It is all in the eye of the patient....and we dentists try our best to get you the smile you want!  Be patient and it will be great.

If you are doing a single tooth, or just a few, then the shade must match the adjacent teeth.  If you are doing your entire smile, then it is up to you to choose the color/whiteness.  If using an experienced dentist with a top notch lab, even extremely white veneers can look real.  If using a discounted situation, the result often looks artificial.