The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of tooth color by using the color difference (CIE1976L*a*b*) between standard material (white board) and subjects. We analyzed the color of sound upper central incisors by using a colorimeter (BM-5, TOKYO OPTICAL CO., LTD JAPAN).
Eighty-one young adults (aged 22-30 years, 81 teeth) and 103 children (aged 7-15 years, 103 teeth) were examined (Total 184 subjects).
Sixteen cases of discolored teeth and 30 cases of enamel opacity (white spot, dental fluorosis) were included.
The results were as follows.
1. The distribution of color differences in the total cases of normal teeth color groups in adults and children showed a normal distribution curve in goodness of fit tests of normality (p<0.05).
2. The mean of color differences in all subjects was 23.9 in enamel opacity, 34.9 in normal teeth, and 48.9 in discolored teeth. Differences among all means were statistically significant (p<0.05) according to the Newman-Keuls test. A similar statistical significance was obtained in children (p<0.05), and in adults significant differences were found between discolored teeth and normal teeth, discolored teeth and enamel opacity.
3. When comparing the mean of color differences of the normal tooth distribution to either the distribution of the typical discolored tooth or typical enamel opacity, the standard deviation made it possible to compare the distance between the 3 groups.
The results of this study suggest the possibility of screening in differentiating tooth color using this method.
