Fifteen ceramic gingival samples: A proposed gingival shade guide

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Color Science in Dentistry
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Accurate gingival shade selection is crucial for esthetic dental restorations.
• Existing gingival shade guides may lack sufficient accuracy and range for diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a valid set of pink ceramic samples for Caucasian gingival color selection.
• To evaluate the shade-matching quality of the developed ceramic samples.

Main Methods:

• 133 ceramic gingival shade samples were created by mixing basic colors from three systems (Heraceram, Vita VM9, IPS Style).
• CIELAB color coordinates were measured using spectrophotometry on 360 healthy anterior gingiva samples.
• K-means clustering and coverage error analysis were used to select and validate the best-matching ceramic samples.

Main Results:

• Fifteen ceramic gingival samples (8 Heraceram, 4 VM9, 3 IPS Style) were selected based on minimum color differences.
• The selected 15 samples demonstrated coverage errors below the clinical acceptability threshold (ΔE00 < 2.9) in all examined gingival zones.
• The developed shade guide effectively covers the gingival color space for the Caucasian population.

Conclusions:

• The 15 selected ceramic gingival color samples offer satisfactory coverage of the gingival color space.
• These samples have the potential to improve subjective gingival shade selection in clinical practice.
• Mixing basic ceramic colors is a viable method for creating effective gingival shade guides.