Integrating Motivational Shade Taking Into Your Practice

Start the Whitening Conversation ALL of your patients want whiter teeth – but many of them won’t ask about it on their own. Integrating shade taking into every hygiene visit gives you a comfortable way to start the whitening conversation with your recall patients. You have the power to help them discover their full smile potential, leading to happier patients who are more compliant, seek out more dental procedures, and refer more new patients to you! Just as you provide gingival probing during every appointment, take a shade during every appointment. Then, excite your patients by showing them what they could achieve with GLO Professional Whitening! Setup Arrange your VITA shade guide from light to dark as shown below. We recommend that you purchase bleaching shades 1M1, OM1, OM2, and OM3, which are sold separately.

Shade Assessment

1. COLLABORATE: Give your patient a hand mirror and involve him or her in taking the initial shade. 2. MATCH THE COLOR: Together, match the patient’s tooth color to the corresponding VITA shade

tab. 3. TAKE A STARTING SHADE PICTURE: Photograph the patient’s smile next to the matching shade

tab. (After the whitening treatment, this will serve as a powerful visual tool to show the patient the change they have achieved.)

4. SHOW THE POTENTIAL/SET THE EXPECTATION: Using the VITA shade guide, show the patient the tabs that are 3, 5, and 8 shades lighter than their starting shade. Hold those tabs up against their teeth. Depending on the starting shade, patients can see shade improvement of up to 8+ shades lighter with GLO Science Professional Whitening, all with little to no sensitivity.

5. RECORD THE STARTING SHADE: Record the starting shade in the patient’s chart. This is important so you can track the patient’s shade as their teeth darken over time. On average, people lose two shades every ten years.

Helpful Hints

1. Keep the same overhead lighting and chair position when taking before and after shades and

pictures. 2. Remove lipstick and cover brightly colored clothing with a dental bib. 3. Make your shade choice quickly as eyes begin to tire after 5-7 seconds. 4. Taking a shade together is a collaborative process: it should be interactive and fun. As GLO

founder, Dr. Jonathan B. Levine says, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I am engaged.”