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The Shading of Your Smile

Matching Tooth ShadeRegardless of what your smile needs (cosmetic improvement, tooth restoration, even dentures), there’s one thing you’ll want when we’re done: attractive, natural-looking teeth.

Getting teeth to look their natural best comes from the shape and color assessments we make throughout the procedure. Color depends of tooth size and thickness, location in the mouth, your skin and eye coloring—even your age.

Aren’t Natural Teeth “white”?

The best looking teeth, like gems, exhibit many different tones and hints. They’re lighter towards the front and center, deepening in shade towards the molars which receive (and reflect) less light. Silver amalgam in the mouth can have long effect on apparent tooth color—and a good reason for considering a more flattering tooth-colored filling.

A lot of the whiteness you see in teeth is actually light reflecting off translucent enamel.

If you thought teenagers were more likely to have brighter smiles than adults—you’re right. It’s because their crystalline enamel layer (surrounding the darker dentin layer) has not yet been worn down through years of chewing and brushing. When light can’t reach deeply into the tooth, it loses that sparkle. It’s then the dentist’s job to recreate the illusion through coloring.

There’s a lot we can do to lighten the color and improve the appearance of your smile! So please don’t hesitate to contact us for a consultation.

About Yuri Kaneda, DDS

Dr. Yuri Kaneda was born in Japan and immigrated to the US when she was 4 years old with her family. She lived in Ohio, Nebraska, and Illinois before finally settling in the San Diego area. A graduate of Bonita Vista High School, she went on to the University of California Berkeley where she obtained her Bachelors in Microbiology and Immunology. After working for 2 years in growth plate research at University of California San Diego, she went to the University of California San Francisco Dental School for her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Upon graduation, she returned to San Diego where she worked as an associate in the practice of Drs. Morimoto and Yaryan, her childhood dentist. She then started her own practice in 1995 and has been at her present location since 1999 which happens to be across the street from her high school!

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