The application of methods in tooth colour measurements - preliminary study

Introduction: The improvement of discolored teeth appearance is one of the goals of modern dentistry. The objective methods of tooth color measurements are required to allow the monitoring of the esthetic procedures efficiency. Objectives: To evaluate two selected methods of tooth colour measurements. Materials and Methods: The study material comprised 25 enamel samples prepared in Durabase blocks. The color of the enamel samples was captured by CCD Panasonic GP-KS162KDE camera with illumination by the Medicolor 2Xe Xenon lamp and by the CCD Ocean Optics S 2000 spectrometer. The shade of the enamel samples was registered in calibrated CIELAB coordinates. Results: The CIELAB colour space parameters calculated on basis of the CCD images analysis and the spectral measurements were 78,68 (±2,53) and 63,85 (±2,23) for the L coordinate, 13,32(±3,26) and 11,22(±1,77) for the A coordinate and 26,08(±4,37) and 14,26(±3,75) for the B coordinate, respectively. Conclusions: The presented systems seem to be useful for tooth colour analysis. The differences in LAB coordinates obtained for both systems are related to various ways of light transformation during the measurement procedures (xenon or room-light). Further investigation should be undertaken to analyse tooth colour changes following the whitening procedures and adapt this systems for the clinical trials. Study supported by GRANT 2PO5B 067 29