Visual whiteness ranking of a Vitapan 3D Master shade guide by untrained assessors.
OBJECTIVE
This study was conducted to obtain the ranking order of a 29-tab (including three "bleaching tabs") Vita Shade Guide for perceived "whiteness" by untrained assessors, and to compare this ranking with both the shade guide manufacturer's rank order and a colorimetrically derived rank order.


METHODS
A total of 85 people, not trained in color assessment by shade guides, were asked to rank order the tabs of a Vitapan 3D Master shade guide for perceived "whiteness" under standardized lighting conditions. A whiteness ranking was also obtained colorimetrically using a Minolta CM-2600d spectrophotometer calibrated to give CIE whiteness values. The data were analysed using means, standard deviations, and standard errors.


RESULTS
The assessors varied more in their rankings for darker shades than the lighter ones. The order derived by the assessors and the colorimetry order did not match well with the manufacturer's order, especially toward the darker shades.


CONCLUSIONS
For use in studies of whitening products, a new order of the Vitapan 3D Master shade guide tabs has been developed in relation to whiteness.
Lath
D L
DL
School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. d.lath@sheffield.ac.uk
Wildgoose
D G
DG
Guan
H
H
Lilley
T H
TH
Smith
R N
RN
Brook
A H
AH
D000328:Adult; D003116:Color / Q000592:standards*; D003118:Color Perception; D003124:Colorimetry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014073:Tooth Bleaching / Q000592:standards*