Color is an important factor in dental esthetics. Application of natural tooth color will not fail to produce pleasing results. But a standardized method of shade matching has not been adopted. If we are to overcome the color matching problem in dentistry, an understanding of the nature of color and light is essential. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different light sources and different background colors on the ability of observers to correctly match shades of artifical teeth. And observation was made to determine if the time spent in making a shade match was a factor in the correctness of the response. A test method was devised and 50 individuals made observations which were recorded and analyzed. $X^2$-test gave results indicating that the time factor had no effect on the response made. An analysis of variance showed the following effects significant at the five percent level; (1) light source (2) background color (3) subject. The following conclusions can be drawn from this study; (1) The time spent in making shade selection is not a factor in the correctness of the selections. (2) The light source used is an important factor in matching tooth shade; and there is no significant difference between the light sources in shade matching. (3) Under the conditions of this study, the greatest accuracy in shade matching was obtained on the brown background.