Tooth shade presentations at a University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Aim: To determine common tooth shades among randomly selected subjects in our hospital.
Background: Dento-facial aesthetics is a subject of concern to everyone. Disharmony in colour between natural and prosthetic teeth is a common cause of dissatisfaction with prosthetic rehabilitation. The pattern of tooth shade presentation in our centre is yet to be reported.
Materials and Methods: This comparative observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital among 300 randomly selected adult subjects  who had full complement of upper anterior teeth. Vita Classic shade guide was employed for the study. To prevent bias, the identification codes on the shade tabs were blinded. An upper left central incisor was employed as the index tooth. Standard principles for tooth shades selection were followed. The shade tab that matched or close to the index tooth was selected for every individual. Age and gender of the subjects were recorded.
Chi Sq statistical test was performed to determine the relationship between gender and tooth shades. The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: Most of the subjects were females, 162 (54.0%) and the age range was18-75yrs. The commonest tooth shade among the subjects was Vita Classic A2 (15.7%) followed by A1 (12.7%) and A3 (10.3%). No case of D1 (0%) was seen and only 2 cases (0.7%) of C4 were encountered. Overall, shade A was the most frequently encountered Hue, 142 (47.3%) followed by shade B, 71 (23.7%). Shade C was the least encountered Hue, 36 (12.0%). There was no statistically significant relationship between gender and shade(χ²=12.799,P=0.618).
Conclusion: The commonest tooth shade among the subjects was Vita Classic A2 and the least was D1. Shade A was the most frequently  encountered Hue.

Keyword: aesthetics, shade guide, tooth shade