title: The effect of various disinfectants on dental shade guides.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dental shade guides are used to evaluate tooth color before prosthodontic procedures and are subjected to disinfection after use. The effect of disinfection on shade guides has not been thoroughly investigated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of disinfectants on the color of shade tabs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Changes in the color (ΔE) of VITA Classical Shade Guide tabs were measured with a VITA Easyshade spectrophotometer in the CIELAB system and calculated after being subjected to Cavicide, Asepticare TB, Sporicidin, and distilled water (control) over a simulated period of 2 years. Statistical analysis was accomplished by a 2-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD) test (α=.05).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant difference was noted in the degree of shade tab color change, depending on the type of disinfectant used (F=153.2, P<.001). No significant difference was noted in the amount of shade tab color change that occurred after disinfection among the different shade tabs used (F=0.611, P=.865), nor was a significant interaction noted between the type of disinfectant and the different shade tabs used (F=0.7, P=.919). Asepticare TB showed the least significant amount of change (ΔE=0.401), and Sporicidin (ΔE=0.889) and the control (ΔE=0.969) showed significantly more color change than Asepticare TB but less than Cavicide (ΔE=1.198).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The average total CIELAB color difference for 50% human perceptibility is approximately 1 unit (under standardized laboratory conditions). In the oral cavity, however, an average change of 3.7 ΔE units could still allow teeth to be perceived as having the same color. Therefore, although the results are statistically significant, they may not be clinically important.
authors.affiliation: Resident, Department of Endondontics, Prosthodontics, Operative Dentistry, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Md. Electronic address: petersonhuang@telus.net.
authors.forename: Peterson Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Operative Dentistry, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: Radi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masri
authors.affiliation: Professor Emeritus, Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Operative Dentistry, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Romberg
authors.affiliation: Professor and program director, Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Operative Dentistry, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Md.
authors.forename: Carl F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Driscoll
mesh_terms: D019840:2-Propanol / Q000737:chemistry; D002733:Chlorophenols / Q000737:chemistry; D003116:Color; D019551:Dental Disinfectants / Q000737:chemistry*; D005976:Glutaral / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D017797:Prosthesis Coloring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002733:Chlorophenols; D019551:Dental Disinfectants; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C103359:cavicide; D019840:2-Propanol; D005976:Glutaral