ShadeWave

What ShadeWave does

ShadeWave, LLC operates a cloud-based dental shade matching platform designed to reduce the guesswork in tooth shade selection for restorations. The company serves two distinct customer segments: practicing dentists who capture clinical intraoral photos using the ShadeWave Mobile iPhone app or ShadeWave Desktop, and dental laboratories that receive, color-correct, and analyze those photos to produce shade, value, and translucency maps for crowns, bridges, and other prosthetic work. The company is led by CEO and founder Dennis Braunston, who has worked in dental technology since 1990 through his related venture, Dental Learning Centers, and operates as a privately held LLC with headquarters in Issaquah, Washington.

The core technology stack is built around a proprietary Shade Reference plate (custom black, white, and gray) combined with patented color-correction algorithms that automatically calibrate clinical photographs without requiring pre-calibrated cameras. The pipeline is covered by US Patent 10,007,987 granted September 15, 2018, which protects both the algorithmic color correction and the cross-shade-guide translation feature. Software products include ShadeWave Mobile ($360/year) and ShadeWave Mobile Premium ($500/year) for dentists, plus a ShadeWave Laboratory License ($500/year) for technicians, all operating over a HIPAA-compliant (US) and PIPEDA-compliant (Canada) cloud platform with encrypted transmission. Hardware accessories include the patented ShadeGrip Pro pistol-grip iPhone stabilizer ($399) and a simplified ShadeGrip ($49).

ShadeWave's revenue model is multi-stream: annual subscription licenses for dentists, an annual laboratory license plus per-case usage fees ($4 per case, sold in 100-unit packages at $400), and one-time hardware sales. The company sells primarily through its own e-commerce storefront (store.shadewave.com) and direct sales, with the CEO personally conducting 30-minute live Zoom demos. Distribution is augmented by a lab-to-dentist channel in which licensed laboratories use a customizable outreach letter template to recruit their referring dentists. Named laboratory customers include Aurum Group, Modern Dental USA, Microdental Laboratories, and NDX-affiliated labs, with named dentist testimonials covering practices in the US and Canada; broader operating geographies span North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Name

ShadeWave

Legal name

ShadeWave, LLC

Website

https://shadewave.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ShadeWave develops cloud-based dental shade matching software and an iPhone application that enable dentists and dental laboratories to capture clinical photographs and generate color-corrected shade maps for restorative dental work.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dental Imaging Software

NAICS

Dental Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (339114)

SIC

Dental Equipment & Supplies (3843)

akta.pro primary industry

Intraoral Optical Scanning & Digital Impression Centers (HLABAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dental Imaging Interpretation & Teleradiology Services (HLABAIAK)

Keywords

• Dental shade matching
• Dental photography software
• Dental imaging systems
• Tooth color matching
• Dental lab software

Headquarters

HQ city

Issaquah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dentist Mobile App Subscriptions: Annual subscription licenses for dentists to use the ShadeWave iPhone app for taking clinical photos and sending them to dental laboratories. Two tiers: standard Mobile ($360/year) and Mobile Premium ($500/year). Premium allows dentists to create and send shade maps to any lab regardless of whether the lab has a ShadeWave license.
2. Laboratory Annual License + Per-Case Fees: Annual laboratory license ($500/year) with unlimited user seats for all lab technicians, plus per-case fees ($4 per case, purchased in units of 100). Labs may pass the per-case fee to dentists or build it into the shade fee.
3. ShadeGrip Pro Hardware: Sale of ShadeGrip Pro — a pistol-grip iPhone attachment with extended arm and shade tab holder that stabilizes dental photography. Standalone ShadeGrip (without ShadeWave license) sold at $49. ShadeGrip Pro sold at $399. Bundle options pair hardware with software licenses ($659 for Mobile + ShadeGrip; $799 for Mobile Premium + ShadeGrip).
4. Case Uses Replenishment: Replenishment credits for high-volume laboratory workflows: 100 case credits for $400 ($4 each), allowing seamless case submissions with ShadeWave.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ShadeWave provides cloud-based dental shade matching software, including an iPhone mobile app and desktop application, that uses a proprietary Shade Reference plate and algorithmic color correction to generate accurate shade, translucency, and value maps from clinical dental photographs. The system enables dentists to capture optimized iPhone photos and securely transmit them to dental laboratories, where technicians use the laboratory license to analyze images, produce detailed shade maps, and fabricate accurately matched dental restorations such as crowns and bridges.

Product overview

ShadeWave is a dental shade matching system consisting of multiple integrated products: ShadeWave Mobile (iPhone app for dentists), ShadeWave Desktop (for dentists using digital cameras), and ShadeWave Laboratory License (for dental labs). The ecosystem enables dentists to capture optimized clinical photos of patients' teeth and securely transmit them to dental laboratories, where technicians can perform color correction and generate detailed shade, translucency, and value maps. Hardware accessories include ShadeGrip Pro and standard ShadeGrip for iPhone stabilization. The system is built around a proprietary algorithm that automatically corrects photos using a Shade Reference plate and creates color-coded shade maps for accurate dental restoration matching.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ShadeWave Mobile iPhone application that turns the phone into a clinical dental camera by automating zoom, exposure, flash, and white balance; dentists capture intraoral images and send them securely to registered dental labs with HIPAA and PIPEDA compliance.
• ShadeWave Mobile Premium Premium iPhone application that includes all ShadeWave Mobile features plus the ability to create accurate shade maps on the iPhone and send them to any dental lab, regardless of whether the lab has a ShadeWave license.
• ShadeWave Laboratory License Annual desktop/cloud license for dental laboratories to receive, color-correct, and analyze dental photos with unlimited user seats; technicians produce shade, value, and translucency maps used to fabricate dental restorations.
• ShadeWave Desktop Desktop application for dentists using traditional digital cameras to manage cases and share clinical images with registered labs; HIPAA and PIPEDA compliant case management and image upload.
• ShadeWave Desktop Premium Desktop imaging solution with advanced shade mapping capabilities for precise color communication and custom shade map customization for dental practices.
• ShadeGrip Pro Patented pistol-grip iPhone attachment with extended arm and shade tab holder that stabilizes distance and angle of camera to shade tabs for consistent, high-quality dental photos; enables one-handed operation.
• ShadeGrip Simplified standalone dental grip compatible only with iPhone XS that stabilizes phone positioning during shade-taking without shade arm or reference tab; designed as a replacement or low-cost option.
• Shade Reference Custom black, white, and gray plate used as a calibration standard in dental photos; ShadeWave software uses this reference for automatic color correction to enable accurate shade analysis even with poorly lit photos.
• Case Uses (100-Unit Replenishment) Credit replenishment package adding 100 case credits to a lab account at $4 per case; supports high-volume laboratory workflows requiring seamless case submissions through ShadeWave.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% first-time shade match success rate for anterior crowns (single central)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• 3Shape: 3Shape's TRIOS intraoral scanners include shade matching features alongside their broader CAD/CAM restorative workflow. A larger incumbent operating across dental imaging/scanning, with overlapping capabilities in the shade communication step ShadeWave addresses.
• Align Technology (iTero): Align's iTero intraoral scanners (used in Invisalign workflows) include shade scanning capabilities and serve many of the same dental practices. A large incumbent with broader restorative and orthodontic workflows that competes for the dental imaging budget.
• Dentsply Sirona (CEREC / Primescan): Dentsply Sirona's CEREC and Primescan systems include shade acquisition features for same-day crown workflows. A large dental equipment incumbent with overlapping shade-matching capability as part of a comprehensive restorative platform.
• X-Rite (Danaher): X-Rite is the global leader in color science and calibration technology, supplying spectrophotometers and color management software to dental and other industries. Adjacent incumbent with potential to move into ShadeWave's photo-based color correction space.

Emerging players

• Pearl: Pearl applies AI/computer vision to dental imaging (radiology and intraoral photos) for diagnostic and case communication workflows. Targets the same dentist-and-lab audience with a broader AI imaging platform that could subsume shade matching.
• SmileFy: SmileFy provides digital smile design and treatment simulation software for cosmetic dentists. Overlaps with ShadeWave's dentist-side premium mobile workflow for aesthetic case planning and lab communication.
• Digital Smile Design (DSD): DSD provides digital smile design software used by dentists and labs, with shade and characterization planning overlapping ShadeWave's mapping outputs. Targets the same cosmetic/restorative dental customer base with a broader workflow suite.

Direct peers

• MHT International (SpectroShade): SpectroShade is a dental spectrophotometer/imaging system that captures tooth color data for lab communication. Directly competes with ShadeWave on the same dentist-and-lab shade matching workflow using a different (hardware) technical approach.
• Shofu (EyeSpecial dental camera): Shofu's EyeSpecial is a purpose-built dental camera with shade-matching-aware features, serving the same intraoral dental photography use case as ShadeWave Mobile. Competes for the dentist's dental photography + shade communication budget.
• VITA Zahnfabrik (Easyshade): VITA's Easyshade is a handheld spectrophotometer that captures tooth shade digitally — the most established direct competitor to ShadeWave's software-based shade matching. Same end customers (dentists and labs) and same clinical use case (crown/bridge shade determination), but uses dedicated hardware instead of an iPhone camera.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ShadeWaveDentalMatchSoftware
• Facebookfacebook.com/MyShadeWave
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/shadewave-dental-shade-matching-software

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ShadeWave