A study on the color distribution of natural teeth by age and gender in the Korean population with an intraoral spectrophotometer

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of natural tooth shades by age and gender in the Korean population with a spectrophotometer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 674 human subjects were recruited and divided into three age groups: young (16-30), middle (31-59), and elderly (60-89). Each group was then subdivided according to gender. Color was measured on the upper central incisor and CIELab color coordinates were obtained. CIEDE2000 color differences ( DeltaE00 ) between genders within each age group and between age groups for both genders were calculated. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify the influence of age and gender on each color variable. RESULTS: The most frequent color in the Korean population was 2L1.5. L* values decreased, while b* values increased with age (P < .05). There was a significant interaction between gender and age on b* values: F (2668) = 3.489, P = .031, partial eta(2) = 0.010, and observed power = 0.652. Females generally have lighter and less chromatic central incisors compared to males. The DeltaE00 values between genders in elderly groups were beyond acceptability threshold. CONCLUSIONS: The central incisors were getting darker, more yellowish, and reddish with age. Information on the chromatic range of natural teeth by age and gender could help to select colors for esthetic dental restorations. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Dentists should consider an unacceptable color mismatch between the restorations and natural dentition that can occur over time.