Chroma-dependence of CIEDE2000 acceptability thresholds for dentistry

Determine visual 50:50% color difference acceptability thresholds (AT) for regions of the dental color space with varying chromaticity.

A 40-observer panel belonging to two different groups (dentists and laypersons) evaluated 144 dental resin composites pairs (divided in three different sets of 48 pairs according to chroma value: Low Chroma (LC), Medium Chroma (MC) and High Chroma (HC) placed 40 cm away and inside of a viewing cabinet (D65 Standard light source; diffuse/0° geometry). A Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy approximation was used for fitting the data points and calculate the 50:50% acceptability thresholds in CIEDE2000. A paired t-test was used to evaluate the statistical significance between thresholds differences and Bonferroni correction was applied.

The CIEDE2000 50:50% AT were ∆E₀₀  = 2.84, ∆E₀₀  = 2.31 and ∆E₀₀  = 1.80 for LC, MC and HC sets of sample pairs, respectively. The 50:50% AT values were statistically significant between the different sets of sample pairs, as well as the 50:50% AT values obtained for different observer groups.

50:50% CIEDE2000 acceptability thresholds for dentistry are significantly different depending on the chromaticity of the samples. Observers show higher acceptability for more achromatic samples (low chroma value) than for more chromatic samples.

The difference in the AT for distinct regions of the dental color space can assist professionals as a quality control tool to assess clinical performance and interpret visual and instrumental findings in clinical dentistry, dental research, and subsequent standardization processes.