Zusammenfassung
Background The aim of the study was to compare a 2D and 3D color system concerning a variety of statistical and graphical methods to assess validity and reliability of color measurements, and provide guidance on when to use which system and how to interpret color distance measures, including Delta E and d(0M1). Methods The color of teeth 14 to 24 of 35 patients undergoing regular bleaching ...
Zusammenfassung
Background The aim of the study was to compare a 2D and 3D color system concerning a variety of statistical and graphical methods to assess validity and reliability of color measurements, and provide guidance on when to use which system and how to interpret color distance measures, including Delta E and d(0M1). Methods The color of teeth 14 to 24 of 35 patients undergoing regular bleaching treatment was visually assessed and electronically measured with the spectrophotometer Shade Inspector (TM). Tooth color was recorded before bleaching treatment, after 14 days, and again after 6 months. VITAPAN (R) Classical (2D) and VITA-3D-Master (R) (3D) served as reference systems. Results Concerning repeated measurements, the 2D system was superior to the 3D system, both visually and electronically in terms of Delta E and d(OM1), for statistics of agreement and reliability. All four methods showed strong patterns in Bland-Altman plots. In the 3D system, hue was less reliable than lightness and chroma, which was more pronounced visually than electronically. The smallest detectable color difference varied among the four methods used, and was most favorable in the electronic 2D system. Comparing the methods, the agreement between the 2D and 3D system in terms of Delta E was not good. The reliability of the visual and electronic method was essentially the same in the 2D and 3D systems; this comparability is fair to good.