In vivo tooth-color measurement with a new 3D intraoral scanning system in comparison to conventional digital and visual color determination methods.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Three-dimensional (3D) intraoral scanning systems allow for the simultaneous acquisition of 3D information about tooth surfaces and a photorealistic view of the patient's tooth colors. AIM The goal of this study was the in vivo comparison of a new 3D scanner with a color acquisition mode and conventional visual and digital color measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS The colors of 40 teeth of 20 patients were evaluated in seven ways: 1) By dentists using the Vita 3D-Master; 2) By dental technicians using the Vita 3D-Master; 3) With the 3Shape Trios device; 4) With the Vita Easyshade device; 5) With the Vita Easyshade Advance device; 6) With the SpectroShade device; and 7) With the SpectroShade Micro device. Digital measurements of Groups 3 to 7 were repeated three times for each tooth. For all groups, both the CIE Lab values and the Vita 3D-Master values were recorded. The repeatability and relative accuracy of the Vita 3D-Master values were analyzed statistically using Pearson's chi-squared test (α < 0.05). ΔE values were calculated from the CIE Lab values, which served as a basis for performing multidimensional scaling (MDS) and evaluating differences between the groups using the one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tamhane's test (α < 0.05). RESULTS The results of the ΔE values showed that clinically relevant differences between the evaluation by dentists, dental technicians, and the intraoral scanning device (3Shape) are negligible. The intraoral 3D scanning device (Group 3) and the digital systems (Groups 4 to 7) did not differ significantly in the repeatability of color shade management. The SpectroShade Micro (Group 7) had significantly better relative accuracy than the other devices. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that intraoral scanning systems can be used to measure both tooth color and tooth surface in 3D. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Intraoral optical scanning devices allow for the acquisition of accurate 3D surface data. Tooth color can be evaluated simultaneously and can be used to determine the color of restorations without requiring additional conventional color-measurement methods.