Translucency of newly extracted maxillary central incisors at nine locations.
BACKGROUND
In addition to color, translucency is one of the primary factors influencing the esthetics of a dental prosthesis. Due to difficulties in measuring the translucency of natural teeth, minimal data are available.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to measure the translucency of newly extracted maxillary central incisors and analyze the relationship between translucency, anatomic location, and age.


METHODS
The translucency of 32 newly extracted maxillary central incisors was measured with a spectrocolorimeter (PR-650) at 9 locations on the tooth crown. These locations were identified by dividing the tooth incisally to cervically and medially to laterally in equal dimensions. The relationships between transmittance, locations, and age were analyzed by univariate analysis of variance (alpha=.05).


RESULTS
The transmittance of maxillary central incisors ranged from 0.13% to 0.65%, which decreased from incisal to cervical (P<.05). Age also affected transmittance in certain locations of the crown; older teeth demonstrated higher transmittance (P<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Transmittance of the maxillary central incisor was variable at different locations of the crown and was positively correlated with age.
Xiong
Fang
F
Department of Dental Technology, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Chao
YongLie
Y
Zhu
ZhiMin
Z
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003124:Colorimetry; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008027:Light; D008437:Maxilla; D008875:Middle Aged; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019228:Tooth Crown / Q000033:anatomy & histology*