A comparison of intraoral spectrophotometers-Are there user-specific differences?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the potential impact of a positioning splint on the determination of the correct tooth color using VITA Easyshade 4 (VE4) or VITA Easyshade 5 (VE5) (VITA Zahnfabrik, Germany).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dental students (n = 50) in their third year and one expert determined the tooth shade of an extracted human tooth using VE4 and VE5, in presence or absence of a positioning splint. The determined shade values (L*a*b*) were collected and the delta E was calculated. A statistical evaluation was performed with the program SPSS® (P < .05).

RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the determination of the correct tooth color (VITA 3D-Master shade), independent from either the expert or the students positioning splint, and independent of using VE4 (P = 1; P = .092) or VE5 (P = .125; P = .25).

CONCLUSION: Using VE4 or VE5, a positioning splint has no effect on the determination of the correct tooth color (VITA 3D-Master shade). For an exact measurement of the L*a*b values in clinical studies, a positioning splint should be used. A person untrained in working with the devices can determine the correct tooth shade more frequently with VE5 than with VE4.© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Correctly determining the tooth shade is an essential treatment step in esthetic reconstructive dentistry. Color is probably one of the most important determinants of esthetics in dentistry. Factors such as lighting conditions, gender, age, experience, and color vision impairment affect the process of shade matching. These deficits brought about the desire for an objective and reproducible shade determination method with digital devices for shade determination. One of the most proven and frequently used digital shade determination devices is the "VITA Easyshade" (VITA Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany). At this point in time, there are no (published) reports on the measurement accuracy of the new VE 5. In addition, there are, as of yet, no investigations comparing the VE 4 and VE 5.