In a shade determination apparatus for teeth and dental restorations, a set
of reference templates for comparing to a patient's tooth is provided.
Based on the coloration of the reference template, the shade of a tooth or
of a restoration to be employed can be determined. The reference templates
are produced in a layer arrangement, taking into consideration layer
thickness, material selection, or both, that corresponds to the tooth or
the dental restoration to be employed. A storage apparatus stores the
coloration of the reference templates, and the layering of the tooth or of
the dental restoration can be matched and determined based on partial
images from an image of the patient's tooth.
