ASSESSMENT OF TOOTH COLOR DIFFERENCE IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN WITH DIFFERENT SMARTPHONES

Digital photography has become an indispensable part of modern medicine and dentistry. In the initial stages, digital single lens reflex cameras were used in medicine and dentistry and were considered the golden standard. In recent years, smartphones have become available and enable adjusting of camera settings. The aim of the study was to examine color accuracy on digital photographs taken with a smartphone and the possibility of applying a simple protocol for shooting digital photographs in daily clinical work. The study was conducted on 45 subjects, and a total of 15 JPEG photographs using three smartphones were taken. Five photographs with different lighting modes were taken with each smartphone and the CIE L*a*b* values were measured. Difference in color (dE) was calculated. The results showed that different lighting conditions and different smartphones did affect color values in this study. The CIE L*a*b* values measured on digital photographs using different smartphones and different illuminations differed significantly (p<0.01). There was significant difference in color between digital photographs in different illuminations and measurements of the natural teeth (p<0.01). Digital photo protocol taken with a smartphone cannot be used as an accurate method for digital determination of tooth color in dentistry.