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. 2023 Apr;9(2):368-374.
doi: 10.1002/cre2.721. Epub 2023 Feb 13.

Comparison of digital and visual tooth shade selection

Sabrin Abu-Hossin  1 , Yonca Onbasi  1 , Lara Berger  1 , Florian Troll  1 , Werner Adler  2 , Manfred Wichmann  1 , Ragai-Edward Matta  1
Affiliations

Comparison of digital and visual tooth shade selection

Sabrin Abu-Hossin et al. Clin Exp Dent Res. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: In dental restorations, color determination is very important for achieving esthetic results. The aim of this study was to compare visual shade selection using digital methods and to assess the repeatability of the utilized intraoral scanners.

Materials and methods: In 31 probands, tooth color was determined on teeth 11, 13, and 16. Shade selection was performed visually by a dentist and digitally using Trios 3 and Cerec Omnicam. Three measurements were performed to determine the repeatability of intraoral scanners. Fleiss' κ was used for statistical evaluation of the repeatability and Cohen's κ was used for comparison of methods.

Results: The visual method showed only slight agreement with Trios 3 (Cohen's κ: 0.198) and Cerec Omnicam (Cohen's κ: 0.115). Moderate agreement was found between Trios 3 and Cerec Omnicam (Cohen's κ: 0.452). In terms of repeatability, Trios 3 scored higher overall than Cerec Omnicam (Fleiss' κ: 0.612 vs. 0.474).

Conclusion: Intraoral scanners can facilitate the workflow in clinical practice. They are a good supplement for color determination, but should additionally be confirmed by the visual method. Clinical significance: The use of digital instruments is increasingly being preferred over conventional treatments. Therefore, it is essential to continuously improve the accuracy of intraoral scanners for color selection in order to offer an alternative to visual methods.

Keywords: Cerec Omnicam; Trios 3; intraoral scanner; shade selection; tooth color; visual shade selection.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of the repeatability of the individual color measurements by the two scanners Cerec Omnicam (b) and Trios 3 (c) using 3 measurement repetitions for each tooth. In addition, comparison was performed of the different shade determination methods (d) following statistical majority decision of the respective measurement repetitions carried out by the intraoral scanners applying the corresponding color scale (a) for all measurements.
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