EVALUATION OF EFFICACY OF COLOUR CORRECTED LIGHT SOURCE IN DETERMINING THE ACCURACY OF SHADE MATCHING DONE WITH A COMMONLY USED SHADE GUIDE SYSTEM BY CONVENTIONAL VISUAL METHOD AND AN INTRA ORAL SPECTROPHOTOMETER

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of colour corrected light source in shade matching and to determine accuracies and inter-rater agreement of three shade matching methods (conventional visual method, visual method using colour corrected light source and spectrophotometric method). Methodology: In the conventional visual method and the visual method using colour corrected light source, four examiners with normal colour vision matched five target control shade tabs taken from the VITAPAN 3D MasterTM shade guide, with other full set of the same shade guide. Shade matching with the colour corrected light source was done under daylight mode simulating 5500K or natural daylight. Each tab was matched three times to determine repeatability of visual examiners. In the spectrophotometric method, two independent examiners matched the control tabs with three repetitions for each tab. The data was collected and statistical analysis was performed. Results: Visual method using colour corrected light source produced more accurate results (80%) than the conventional visual method (68.3%) and spectrophotometric method (0%), thus proving the efficacy of colour corrected light source (p<0.05). All three methods exhibited poor inter-rater agreement. Conclusion: The question is whether handheld light correcting devices and digital assessments are clinically useful or are they unreliable andunnecessary costly. Even though visual shade matching is subjective, it is not inferior and should not be underrated. The low accuracy value obtained for the spectrophotometer may be a misrepresentation of the machines capabilities due to its inability to measure any reading asclose to the correct value. If both analyses are combined, digital determination of the basic shade and visual determination of the effects, can provide the best possible esthetic outcome. Although human eye will be the finalarbitrator, success can best be achieved by combining traditional artistic techniques with advancements in technology, complemented with innovations in colour-related research, education, and training of dental professionals.