Research Information System
NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, vol.21, no.7, pp.925-931, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
Objectives: To investigate the color relationships between the anterior teeth in vivo. Materials and Methods: A total of 640 volunteers (age: 18-22) participated in the study. The color measurements of left maxillary and mandibular central, lateral, and canine were performed using a colorimeter. Color differences were calculated according to the CIE L* a* b* (.E*) and CIEDE2000 (.E 00 *) system. The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) ratings were also evaluated. Statistical analyses were performed using two-way ANOVA and Fisher's exact test (P < 0.05). Results: Significant differences were found between the L*, a*, b*, and.E* values (P < 0.05), except for mandibular central and lateral..E* values were found between 1.5.E* (mandibular central-mandibular lateral) and 8.1.E* (maxillary central-maxillary canine). While the highest L* (80.5) and the least b* (15.1) values were obtained for mandibular central, the mean L* (73.6) and the mean b* values (21.3) were obtained for the maxillary canine. a* value was found to be highest for the mandibular lateral (1.1) and the least for the maxillary central (-0.2) teeth. NBS values were between 1.3 and 7.4 units, and only mandibular central and mandibular lateral teeth exhibited " almost the same" color values, while the other teeth exhibited " slightly different," " very different," or " remarkably different" color values. Conclusion: Anterior maxillary and mandibular teeth exhibited " different" color values. Only mandibular incisors and mandibular laterals showed " almost the same" color. Canines were more dark/red/yellow for both mandible and maxilla. Centrals were more bright/green/yellow for maxilla and bright/green/blue for mandibular. Clinicians should select the color one by one for each tooth and be aware of their color relations for optimal esthetics.