Predicting tooth color from facial features and gender: results from a white elderly cohort.
BACKGROUND
Clinicians providing edentulous patients with complete dentures are often confronted with the problem of not knowing the patient's natural tooth color. It would be valuable to be able to determine this from other facial features.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the possibility of predicting tooth color in the elderly from hair and eye color, facial skin complexion, and gender.


METHODS
The lightness (L*), chroma (C*), and hue (h*) of the color of 541 natural teeth were measured for a white study population (94 subjects, 75 to 77 years old, 55.3% male) by means of a single measurement with a clinically applicable spectrophotometer. Hair and eye color and facial skin complexion were recorded in categories. Mixed-effects regression models were calculated for each L*, C*, and h* value with hair and eye color, facial skin complexion, and gender as independent variables (alpha=.05).


RESULTS
Only gender and hair color in univariate analysis and, additionally, eye color in multivariate analysis, were significant predictors of tooth color. Higher L* values (lighter color) were associated with lighter eye color and with female gender. The C* value was lower (less saturated) for women. More yellow/green than yellow/red h* values were associated with hair colors other than black and with female gender. However, the parameter estimates of the variables were rather low.


CONCLUSIONS
Determination of tooth color from hair and eye color and from gender in the white elderly was only partially possible.
Hassel
Alexander J
AJ
Department of Prosthodontics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. alexander.hassel@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Nitschke
Ina
I
Dreyhaupt
Jens
J
Wegener
Ina
I
Rammelsberg
Peter
P
Hassel
Jessica C
JC
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003116:Color; D005127:Eye Color; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006200:Hair Color; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D044465:White People