Color assessment in dental prostheses: The use of smartphones as process tools

Abstract

Accurate color selection of direct or indirect dental restorations is a subjective task. Mobile phones are tools that may minimize color assessment errors. The objective was to use photographs taken with smartphones to guide the dental surgeon in choosing the right color in oral rehabilitation. A tooth was photographed for color assessment and the VITA Toothguide 3D-MASTER® shade guide was used. Photographs were submitted to an image editing software for full saturation removal. Images of the tooth and scale in black and white were compared. This method allowed to select the tooth’s value, which is considered the most subjective dimension in color choice. Although it is an auxiliary and complementary method to traditional methods, smartphones are tools capable of reducing the range of color possibilities and minimizing possible failures.