Dental Shade Matching and Value Discernment Abilities of First-Year Dental Students

To determine if Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test, Perceptual Ability Test, gender, age, ethnicity, and time predict dental shade matching and value discernment in first-year dental students.

Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test was administered to 95 first-year-dental students beneath a Judge II booth (color temperature of 6500°K, and color rendering index of 90). Students also arranged 16 masked shade tabs from a Vita Classic shade guide by value (lightest to darkest) and matched together 16 pairs of masked shade tabs from two Vita Classic shade guides. Ethnicity, age, Perceptual Ability Test scores, gender, and time to complete the tests were recorded. Associations and correlations were investigated using chi-square, Tukey-Kramer HSD, standard least square, and multilinear regression (p < 0.05).

Total error scores on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test ranged from 0 to 144. Forty-eight students exhibited superior color acuity, 45 average, and two poor. The mean number of correct answers for matching shade tabs together was 11.6, and 6.1 for arranging the shade tabs by value. Females performed statistically better than males on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test and shade tab matching. Better color discrimination identified by lower total error scores on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test was directly correlated to greater ability to match shade tabs together. Perceptual Ability Test scores had slight significance. As the scores increased there was slightly better performance on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test. Older participants performed better than younger subjects on the value test. No other correlations were significant for any of the tests.

Females and individuals who performed better on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test have improved dental shade-matching ability.