Composite shade guides and color matching.

Finding reliable systems that can help the clinician match the color of direct composite restorations is often an issue. After reviewing several composite shade guides available on the market and outlining their main characteristics and limits (unrealistic specimen thickness, not made with the same material the clinician will use, only a few allow to overlap enamel tabs on dentin ones), the authors evaluated the reliability of a system designed to produce self-made standardized "tooth-shaped" shade guide specimens. Small changes in composite enamel thickness may determine huge differences in esthetic outcomes. In conclusion, the results showed that all the specimens demonstrated comparable enamel thickness in all the examined areas (cervical, middle, incisal).