Reliability of Tooth Shade Perception by Dental Professionals and Patients

Journal Article

• Issue Number: 1
• Volume Number: 30
• Pages: 244 - 249

Publication Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of dental personnel and patients in
ascertaining the shade of natural teeth compared to the electronic shade matching devices. Five groups
(10 each) of participants were selected: prosthodontists, general practitioners, dental interns, dental
technicians and dental patients. Shade selection was carried out using Vitapan classical shade guides
to mach seven shade tabs (A1, A3, B2, B3, C2, C4 and D3) of the same shade guide. The electronic shade
matching consistently gave lower ΔE for all teeth. Comparing the different groups of observers;
prosthodontists (PD), dental patients (DP), dental interns (DI) showed comparable ΔE value. The
general practitioners (GP) and dental technicians (DT) showed the least values. Additionally, DI
showed the highest correct matches while DT showed the lowest. It could be concluded that when visual
method is chosen for shade selection, it appears to be preferable to rely upon the dental interns,
prosthodontists and general dental practitioners, especially when the tooth is homogenous in
appearance.