Assessment of interoperator variability in shade selection using two shade guides

An observational study

Abstract

Background: Shade determination for direct and indirect restorations has always been a challenging aspect of esthetic dentistry. Hence; the present study was conducted for assessing Interoperator Variability in Shade Selection using Two Shade Guides. Materials & methods: Two different shade guides used were: Shade Guide 1- Vitapan classical shade guide and Shade Guide 2-VITA toothguide 3D-Master shade guide. A total of 40 subjects were enrolled. Only those subjects were enrolled which had healthy maxillary right permanent central incisor. Two independent operators participated in the study.  Each subject was seated upright in the dental chair and the middle third portion of the maxillary right central incisor teeth to be matched was slightly moistened. The percentage of variability in shade selection between the operators was calculated. All the results were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: For shade guide 1, kappa value and interpersonal variability was 0.89 and 16% respectively. For shade guide 2, kappa value and interpersonal variability was 0.71 and 29% respectively. Hence; interpersonal variability was higher for shade guide 2 in comparison to shade guide 1. Conclusion: From the above results, the authors concluded that VITA Toothguide 3D-Master showed higher variability in comparison with Vita lumen shade guide.