Proposal of New Dental Color Space for Aesthetic Dental Materials

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop new dental color-space system for aesthetic dental materials. Methods: Twelve kinds of dental composites and one kind of dental porcelain were used in this study. Disk samples (15 mm in diameter, 4 mm in thickness) were made and sample's CIE L*a*b* value was measured by Spectrocolorimeter (MiniScan XE plus, Model 4000S, Hunter Lab. USA). The range of measured color distribution was analyzed. All the data were applied in the form of T### which is expression unit in CNU Cons Dental Color Chart. Results: The value of L* lies between 80.40 and 52.70. The value of a* are between 10.60 and –3.60 and b* are between 28.40 and 2.21. The average value of L* is 67.40, and median value is 67.30. The value of a* are 2.89 and 2.91 respectively. And for the b*, 14.30 and 13.90 were obtained. The data were converted to T### that is the unit count system in CNU Cons Dental Color Chart. The value of L* is converted in the first digit of the numbering system. Each unit is 2.0 measured values. The second digit is the value of a* and is converted new number by 1.0 measured value. For the third digit b* is replaced and it is 2.0 measured unit apart. T5## was set to the value of L* ranging from 66.0 to 68.0. T#5# was set to the value of a* ranging from 3 to 4 and T##5 was b* value ranging from 14 to 16. Conclusion: The research suggests a dental color space system that can tell the difference of color for a specific code assigned and simplify previous system to apply in practical use.