Color attributes and accuracy of Vita-based manufacturers' shade guides

The shades of several tooth-colored restoratives are now keyed to the Vita Lumin shade guide. The purpose of this study was to determine whether manufacturers' shade guides had color attributes that were similar to the Vita Lumin guide to which they are supposedly keyed. The overall color accuracy between the different guides was also compared via colorimetry. Results showed that none of the manufacturers' shade tabs evaluated had all L*, a*, and b* values that were identical to their respective Vita shade tabs. For the shades evaluated, manufacturers' tabs were generally darker than their corresponding Vita shade tabs. When shade guides were compared, the color accuracy of Z100 and Fuji II LC shade guides was significantly better than that of Durafill VS and TPH. Dyract's shade guide was the most accurate and was significantly better than the shade guides of Fuji II LC, Durafill VS, and TPH. The accuracy of manufacturers' shade guides was not consistently product dependent but was shade dependent.