Why enamel is translucent
Enamel is crystalline and lets light through; dentine beneath is opaque and gives the tooth its colour. At the edge, where there is no dentine, the tooth glows slightly blue-grey.
Reproducing it
Layered ceramics with a translucent incisal layer, shaped and fired by the ceramist to the design. Monolithic opaque materials cannot do this, which is why cheap veneers look like tiles.
The balance
Too much translucency looks grey; too little looks dead. The right amount is chosen for the patient’s age and the neighbouring teeth, and checked in daylight before bonding.
