Guides · updated 23 September 2026

Lab and shade guides for cosmetic cases

Everything we have written about shade, translucency and lab communication for veneer and whitening cases, in one place: from the A1 to BL1 scale to stump shades and e.max opacity.

Many wrong-shade cases start as communication problems rather than lab errors. Three things decide how a cosmetic case comes back: the shade the patient actually means, the tooth underneath the restoration, and what the lab receives. These guides cover each one in plain language, for the dentist, the treatment coordinator and the lab.

Shade: what patients mean by white

A1, BL1, and what patients mean by white: How to decode “as white as possible”, and where whitening's ceiling honestly sits.
Veneer shade selection: A1 to BL1: Veneers free a patient from their natural shade, which makes the shade conversation harder, not easier.
Hollywood white or natural white?: Guiding a patient between the two, with the trade-offs and the face factors.
Natural Hollywood smiles: the A1-first way: Why the most flattering “Hollywood” smiles are the most believable, not the whitest.
Why whitening previews beat shade tabs: A shade tab means everything to you and nothing to the patient.

Under the restoration: stump shade and translucency

The stump shade problem: ND1 to ND9: The prepared tooth shifts the final colour under translucent ceramics, and most briefs never mention it.
e.max translucency, for the chairside talk: Why one veneer looks alive and another looks flat, in words a patient understands.
IPS e.max opacity codes: HT, LT, MO, HO: What each code means and when the ceramist reaches for it.

What the lab should receive

What your lab wishes you'd send every case: The one input that decides the result: the patient's approved look.
What a smile preview should hand your lab: The approved look, and nothing that pretends to be a prescription.
Why cosmetic cases come back the wrong shade: How shade information gets lost between the chair and the bench.
Reducing lab remakes: the paper trail: The case-record habit that prevents most avoidable remakes.
The 60-second case brief for the lab: The complete brief already exists in the operatory; it just needs assembling.
The lab, dentist and patient triangle: Three parties, and only two of them ever talk directly.
Will AI replace the diagnostic wax-up?: What AI previews change in case design, and what they don't.

The Smileproof lab report

Smileproof turns the preview a patient approved into a clinic-branded PDF the lab can work from, in about a minute: the before and approved images with matched close-ups, the shade on a photoreal ladder, and aesthetic direction in ceramist vocabulary (opacity, translucency, stump shade). It is a design reference, not a prescription, and it carries no measurements: geometry stays with the impression and the treating dentist. See what the lab report includes.

FAQ

What is the difference between A1 and BL1?

A1 is the brightest of the natural tooth shades, a clean white that whitening can often reach on suitable teeth. BL1 is the brightest bleach shade, the bold veneer-white, and it is generally beyond what whitening alone achieves.

What is a stump shade, and why does the lab need it?

The stump shade is the colour of the prepared tooth. It shows through translucent ceramics and shifts the final result, so the lab needs it to choose the right ingot. The ND1 to ND9 guide exists to communicate it, and a good photo helps more than a letter code.

What do the e.max codes HT, LT, MO and HO mean?

They are opacity levels: High Translucency, Low Translucency, Medium Opacity and High Opacity. They set how much of the prepared tooth shows through the final restoration; the ceramist makes the final ingot choice.

Does the Smileproof lab report include measurements?

No. It is a design reference: the before and approved images, aesthetic direction in ceramist vocabulary and the patient's own preferences. Measurements and the clinical order stay with the treating dentist and the lab.

Keep reading: What is AI smile simulation? · Best AI smile simulation software in 2026 · Digital Smile Design cost

See a preview turn into a lab brief

Book a 20-minute demo and watch a photoreal before/after become a lab report on a sample case, then take a free 30-day pilot on your own patients.

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