The B1 tooth color is the lightest “B” shade and also the whitest tooth shade from the vita classical shade guide. Despite it being the whitest color, it is still considered to be very natural looking. Of course what that implies is that it is lighter in color than the average shade of teeth.
What color is B1 tooth shade?
Even though the B1 tooth shade is considered “white”, the hue of it is actually reddish yellowish. It’s just that the value or lightness of it is fairly bright.
We’ve provided the manufacturer’s instructions below which tell you what all of these color shade families are. As you can see, the B shade of teeth color is considered reddish-yellow.
Definitions:
- Color hue – the hue typically refers to the color wheel.
- Color value – the value refers to how “light” the color is.
The diagram above shows you the difference between what the hue is and what the color is.
Yes, B1 is considered a white tooth color but it is technically a very light reddish yellow because that’s the natural color of teeth. Teeth aren’t actually paper white you know, even though you may wish that they were.
FAQs
If you’ve teeth in the color of B1, you certainly don’t have yellow teeth. The average color for teeth happens to be A2 which is about one shade darker than B1. That puts you above average if this is the shade of your smile.
B1 is not too white since it is only one shade lighter than the average (A2). It is still a part of the VITA shade guide which is meant for natural teeth.
All of the tooth shades in the VITA classical shade guide (including B1) are considered to have a natural color.
How it compares to other “B” tooth shades
The color B1 is the lightest color out of the entire family of tooth shades with “B”, from B1 to B4. Below is a photo of all of the B-tooth shades side by side to give you an overview of what they look like compared to one another.
Since we know you love pictures, we’ll provide close up photos comparing each of the colors to B1 individually.
Vs B2
This is what B1 looks like when compared to B2. Most of the patients at our office have an average color of about A2 which is very similar to B2.
Vs B3
The color B3 is one shade darker than the average shade of B2. You can consider your teeth to be more “yellow” than average if you’ve B3.
Vs B4
We don’t see B4 too often but you’ll probably agree with us that it is quite dark. If your chompers are B4 you should highly consult a cosmetic dentist for some intensive teeth whitening.
This color is two shades darker than what the average color is. We hate to break it to you but if this is the color of your teeth, you’ve some very yellow teeth.
B1 vs OTHER teeth colors
B1 vs A tooth shades
The A tooth color is more reddish-brownish and comes in A1 to A4.
B1 vs A1
B1 vs A2
B1 vs A3
B1 vs A3.5
B1 vs A4
B1 vs C tooth shades
The C tooth color is more grayish and comes in C1 to C4.
B1 vs C1
B1 vs C2
B1 vs C3
B1 vs C4
B1 vs D tooth shades
The D tooth color is more reddish-grayish and comes in D2 to D4. There is no D1 shade.
B1 vs D2
B1 vs D3
B1 vs D4
Is B1 the whitest tooth color?
The shade B1 is a very white tooth color and is considered to be the whitest natural tooth shade. You can literally pinpoint it when you look at the entire vita shade guide.
A1 is the second whitest but the B1 tooth color is ever so slightly whiter than A1. Below is a picture comparing the two.
To be quite honest, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them unless you see them side by side.
Bleached shades
Just for your information, the classical vita shade guide is for the natural shade of teeth. Due to advances in teeth whitening, there is a level of whiteness which exceeds the vita color guide.
The teeth colors which are whiter than both B1 and A1 are called the “bleached shades” or commonly referred to as the Hollywood whites.
As you can see in the image above where B1 is placed next to one of the bleach shade 0M3. Clearly the 0M3 is the winner in who has the whitest teeth.
Is B1 a good color?
In our opinion, B1 is a great color to choose for your teeth whether you’re getting veneers or whitening them. The color is still whiter than the average tooth shade which is A2.
If you whiten your teeth to the shade of B1, it will still look very natural. The same can be said for if you were getting veneers and wanted to change the color of your teeth. The dental veneers will still look very natural if you go with B1.
Typically when people go a lot whiter than B1 is when the veneers can start standing out like a sore thumb. It will also look glaringly obvious that you had dental work done.
However, if you go with A1 or B1, the average person wouldn’t even be able to tell.
Best color should match adjacent teeth
Despite everything that we’ve said above, the best color for if you weren’t whitening or getting veneers would actually be your natural color. If you were getting a single crown or single veneer, you’re not suppose to pick a color that you like.
You’re supposed to choose a shade that seamlessly blends in with the adjacent teeth.
If that color is B1 then that is great because that means you’ve naturally white teeth. However, if it is a different color, you should choose that other color so that it can match your chompers. The goal is to have your entire mouth be uniform in color. That is more important than having a single white tooth.