Evaluation of tooth color distribution in 20 to 30-year-old patients of

Received: 30 Oct 2010 Accepted: 22 Oct 2011 Abstract Background and Aim: Tooth color assessing is very important in esthetic dentistry. The aim of this article was to study tooth color prevalence of 20-30-year-old patients and also presentation of a simple method for color assessment. Materials and Methods: This cross section descriptive analytic study was performed on One thousand fifty nonsmoker volunteers (501 male, 549 female). In a light, dis tance and angle constant condition the left maxillary incisors were photographed with a digital camera (Canon G9) using a retractor. The pictures were studied with Adobe Photoshop CS5 software. The color of the middle 1/9 of the tooth was measured in L*a*b* system. In the exact above condition vita pan classical shade guide was pho tographed in direction of neutral background. These pictures were studied with Adobe Photoshop CS5 and L*a*b* average was measured for the middle 1/9 of each sample. After measurement of ∆E* for each person and vita pan classical shade guide, mini mum ∆E* was chosen for each tooth as the color of that tooth. Finally, the effect of colored liquid drinks was assessed. Results: The most popular findings were A3.5 (16.85%) A3 (14.85%) and B1, B2 (9.8%). The results of this study showed that the L* average in nonsmokers who drank colored liquids more than twice a day in comparison to noncolored liquid users was lower. The a* and b* average in this group was higher than noncolored liquid users. Conclusion: The most common findings were A3.5 (16.85%) A3 (14.85%) B1, B2 (9.8%). Tooth color assessment with a digital camera and computerized study is sim ple and cheap but very sensitive.