Comparison of conventional and digital colour selection methods in dentistry

Achieving aesthetic results in dentistry depends on the color harmony between dental restorations and natural teeth. Considering the complex optical properties of teeth, color selection is an important and challenging step. Color selection can be performed using visual and instrumental methods. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy and repeatability of visual and digital tools used in color selection in dentistry, namely the color scale, spectrophotometer, and intraoral scanner. 194 dental students (81 males, 113 females) voluntarily participated in this study. Visually, the Vita 3D-Master color scale (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany); instrumentally, the Vita Easyshade Advance spectrophotometer (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany) and the CEREC AC Omnicam intraoral scanner (Sirona Dental Systems, Bensheim, Germany) were used to measure the color of the middle third of the upper right central incisors. The Vita Easyshade Advance was accepted as the reference device. Visual color selections and color measurements made with the intraoral scanner were compared with spectrophotometer color measurements. The repeatability of the three test groups was examined by repeating the measurements in triplicate. The data were statistically analyzed. The study's results found that the spectrophotometer and visual color selection results were similar. The color measurement results of the CEREC AC Omnicam intraoral scanner differed from the spectrophotometer and visual color selection results. The repeatability of the CEREC AC Omnicam and spectrophotometer methods was similar and higher than the visual method repeatability.