Shade Selection Calculator

Shade guide value from spectrophotometer readings.

Inputs

Lightness (L*)

Chroma (C*)

Hue angle (h degrees)

Patient age (years)

Tab to move between fields

Results

VITA shade group (1-4)

1

Shade value (1-4)3

VITA 3D-Master value (0-5)2

Chroma level (M1-M3)2

Delta E from A25.1

Match quality (1-3)1

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Lightness (L*), Chroma (C*), and Hue angle (h degrees).
Set Patient age (years).
Review the VITA shade group (1-4) result.
Use Shade value (1-4) and VITA 3D-Master value (0-5) to inform your decision.

What each input means

Lightness (L*): CIE L* value (lightness): 0 = black, 100 = white.
Chroma (C*): Chroma/saturation value from spectrophotometer.
Hue angle (h degrees): Hue angle in degrees (teeth typically 70-110).
Patient age (years): Patient age for shade adjustment.

What each result means

VITA shade group (1-4): 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D in VITA Classical.
Shade value (1-4): Darkness level within the shade group.
VITA 3D-Master value (0-5): Lightness group in 3D-Master system.
Chroma level (M1-M3): Saturation level: 1=low, 2=medium, 3=high.
Delta E from A2: Color difference from reference shade A2.
Match quality (1-3): 1=poor, 2=acceptable, 3=excellent.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Lightness (L*) = 72, Chroma (C*) = 15, Hue angle (h degrees) = 85, Patient age (years) = 45 = 4 input(s) provided
Calculate VITA shade group
1 = 1
Calculate Shade value
Shade value = min(4, shadeValue + ageAdjustment)
3 = 3
Calculate VITA 3D-Master value
VITA 3D-Master value
2 = 2

Engine last updated July 28, 2026.

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