The B1 shade is not too white because the bleached teeth shades are much whiter than it, but it is the whitest natural tooth color. Overall, if you're trying to decide if it is too white it would depend on what the color of your natural dentition is.
Table of Contents:
B1 isn't the whitest shade
You can't outright say that the tooth color B1 is "too white" when it isn't even the whitest one available. The honor for that belongs to the hollywood white shades which are 0M1, 0M2, and 0M3 shades.
The image above shows B1 compared to all three of the bleached shades. Clearly, it is the darkest tooth color when compared to them. We want to make sure that you understand the difference in the level of whiteness so we made a video to show you the comparison. Sometimes photos don't capture every nuance.
Aside from the 0M colors, there is another bleach shade guide by IVOCLAR which uses BL1, BL2, BL3, and BL4. All four of those BL shades are whiter than B1 as well.
How white is B1?
The color B1 is actually the whitest natural tooth color. That is when you compare them to all of the natural colors of human teeth. It's just not the whitest if you take into account the bleached shades.
Below is an image that shows how white it is when it is compared to the other shades. We pulled the shade tab above the other tabs for ease of identification. You've to agree that it is the whitest one right? It's even whiter than A1.
However, if we're going to get into the nitty gritty details of tooth shades, the B shades are technically a reddish-yellowish color. The VITA classical shade guide instructions provided below as evidence of what it's color really is.
Yes, most people wouldn't really call it reddish-yellowish but if you look really carefully and you compare it to the rest of the B shades (B2, B3, B4) you will see it!
The whitest or lightest color of the B shades would be B1 and it gets progressively darker as you go from B2, B3, to B4.
When B1 is too white
Situations where choosing B1 tooth color can be perceived as "too white."
All of the above scenarios pertain to having dental work done but you're choosing the shade B1 simply because it is the whitest. It's considered too white because the color literally doesn't match the rest of your teeth and that is a problem.
In summary, when the color doesn't blend in seamlessly with the surrounding teeth, it will be considered excessively white.
When B1 is just right
Situations where choosing B1 tooth shade may be perfect for you.
If you're getting a crown or veneer and your teeth are naturally the shade B1.
If you're doing 6 front veneers and the adjacent teeth are just 1 shade darker.
You whiten all of your teeth to the color B1. This is okay because it is still considered a natural color for teeth.
In summary, when the color can blend in seamlessly with the surrounding dentition, it won't be considered excessively white.
Is it a good color?
It is of our opinion that there is no good or bad tooth color. Every color exists for a reason and can be used if needed.
Whether or not the color is good for you depends on your specific situation.
If B1 works for you then it is a good color for you.
If the color does not blend in with the rest of your teeth then it probably isn't a good color for you.
Ultimately the answer would be that it depends but just to be clear, B1 is definitely not a yellow tooth color. It is the most white out of all of the natural teeth colors. If we were to pick a shade that was yellow, we would say that B4 is really yellow.
As you can see in the photo above, I think we can agree that B4 would be what we can classify as having yellow teeth. If your teeth are that color you should highly consider bleaching your teeth at home and even consider professional in-office treatment.
Takeaway
It's tough for us to say whether or not B1 is too white for you since we don't know what your mouth looks like.
If the rest of your teeth are that color then it's the right color for you.
If your dentition is darker than it then maybe it's too bright for you.
Therefore the answer is that it depends on what your teeth and your mouth looks like. Just so that you know there are colors that are whiter than it even though B1 is the whitest natural shade that people can have.
