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Accuracy of Kubelka-Munk reflectance theory for dental resin composite material
Sarah S Mikhail1, Shereen S Azer, William M Johnston
1Division of Restorative and Prosthetic Dentistry, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Columbus, OH, USA.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to determine the effect of interfacial reflection correction (IRC) on the accuracy of this reflectance model for contemporary dental resin composite materials.
Methods:
Visible reflectance spectra were obtained for varying thicknesses (∼0.3-1.2mm) of five shades of each of two brands (Herculite Ultra and Kalore) of dental resin composite materials on black, gray and white backings. For each shade and brand, K-M theory was fit (SAS non-linear fit) for each of three IRC methods: (1) no IRC (No), (2) an IRC method which uses a theoretical value of the internal reflection for translucent materials (Tr), and (3) an IRC method which uses a derived value of the internal reflection for opaque materials (Op). The errors were subjected to repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni corrections were applied to selected pairwise comparisons.
Results:
The Op method had a statistically lower error than the No method at wavelengths from 460 to 560nm, and the Tr method had this lower error at wavelengths from 440 to 780nm.
Significance:
Corrected K-M reflectance theory may be used to accurately quantify the optical K-M absorption and scattering coefficients for contemporary dental resin composite materials, and this theory may be used to calculate accurately the reflectance spectrum for a clinically relevant thickness value and for a backing that is low, mid-range or high in lightness. Both color and translucency information of resin composite materials may be accurately predicted using corrected Kubelka-Munk reflectance model.
