Trying to match the color of the cement between the abutment and the dental implant crown in the anterior can be very frustrating. Here’s a trick that works well for me. 

A while back I was struggling to match the color of the cement between the abutment and an anterior implant crown. I always try-in the abutment and the crown and try to confirm the shade before they are put together. We do this because the laboratory can’t redo the shade once they’ve bonded the crown and the abutment for screw retention without trying to separate the cement, which is difficult. 

Over the years, it was a challenge to replicate the opacity of the cement used to connect the titanium abutment and ceramic crown. I’ve tried using some of the opaquest try-in paste on the market. 

In the case I referred to above, we thought we had it. My lab cemented it together and I put it in. I could see the opacity of the cement through the restoration. So, we had to take it apart and try again. My laboratory technician shared with me a trick that he had learned from one of his other dentist clients. And that was to simply go to CVS, Costco, or Target and buy good old fashioned liquid white out.  

Now, I put a very tiny amount of whiteout on a micro brush and paint it on the inside of the labial surface of the crown on the intaglio surface. Then, I use a bit of translucent try-in paste to seat the crown. 

The whiteout works well because it is basically titanium dioxide and water with preservatives—the same white compound that is in super white sunscreens. In my opinion, it is relatively safe to use, and I can see what the implant will look like when the pieces are cemented together.