Females generally have slightly whiter teeth than males.

The perception of tooth color is the result of a complex interaction of factors such as lighting conditions, translucency, opacity, light scattering, gloss and the human eye and brain.Teeth are composed of a surface enamel layer, which is whiter and semitransparent, and an underlying dentin layer, which is darker and less transparent. These are calcified, hard tissues comparable to bone. The natural shade of teeth is best considered as such; an off-white, bone-color rather than pure white. Public opinion of what is normal tooth shade tends to be distorted. Portrayals of cosmetically enhanced teeth are common in the media. In one report, the most common tooth shade in the general population ranged from A1 to A3 on the VITA classical A1-D4 shade guide.

Females generally have slightly whiter teeth than males, partly because females teeth are smaller, and therefore there is less bulk of dentin, partially visible through the enamel layer. For the same reason, larger teeth such as the molars and the canine (cuspid) teeth tend to be darker. Baby teeth (deciduous teeth) are generally whiter than the adult teeth that follow, again due to differences in the ratio of enamel to dentin. As a person ages the adult teeth often become darker due to changes in the mineral structure of the tooth, as the enamel becomes less porous[citation needed] and phosphate-deficient. The enamel layer may also be gradually thinned or even perforated by the various forms of tooth wear.