Four color-measuring devices compared with a spectrophotometric reference system

The objective of this study was to compare the L*C*h° color coordinates of dental color-measuring devices with those of a spectrophotometric reference system.

The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) L*C*h° color coordinates of ceramic samples, matching the colors of the VITA Linearguide, were recorded using four color-measuring devices (VITA Easyshade (A), VITA Easyshade compact (B), Degudent Shadepilot (C), X-Rite Shadevision (D)) and a spectrophotometric reference system under standardized test conditions. The intraclass correlation coefficients, regression lines with coefficients of determination, and mean deviations of the dental color-measuring devices from the spectrophotometric reference system were calculated.

All of the devices had high intraclass correlation coefficients, between 0.979 and 1.000. Nearly all measurements, except the hue values of devices A, B, and D, showed coefficients of determination close to 1.0 over the range of measurements for L*C*h° color coordinates. Similarly, all of the devices had coefficients of determination near the optimum value of 1.0. Devices C and D produced regression line slopes near the optimum value of 1.0 and intercepts close to the optimum value of zero. Only the L* coordinate measurements of devices A and B and the h° coordinate measurements of device B differed not significantly from the spectrophotometric reference values.

The electronic dental color-measuring devices tested showed excellent repeatability, but some devices showed substantial deviations in color coordinate values from the spectrophotometric reference system. Devices C and D showed higher precision than devices A and B.