Shading Porcelain Teeth

Furthermore, metal materials were also used to tint or shade porcelain teeth. The materials described above gave porcelain teeth a pure white color. However, this white became altered by body and mouth chemical interaction over time, so metal tints allowed for long-term colouring solution. (11) Titanium gave a yellowish colour, and was used to colour the body of the tooth and sometimes the enamel if needed. Gold imparted a rose-red colour that blended the artificial teeth naturally with the gums. Manganese gave a purple hue, while cobalt gave a bright blue colour. A greenish-yellow from uranium, a yellow-lemon colour from silver, and so on and so forth. (11)

These metals were used both independently or in combination with one another to produce a variety of tints and shades, allowing dentists to find denture colours that best met the needs of their patients. In most cases, this amounted to finding the colour combination that best imitated the patient’s natural teeth. (11) (9)