Evaluating accuracy of shade matching in a cross-section of dentists in a dental institute, Karnataka, South India

This study evaluated the effect of two different manufacturer-suggested shade tab arrangements of VC shade guide on the accuracy of shade selection by restorative clinicians. Material and Methods: Three VC shade guides were used in this study. Seven shade tabs from one guide were used for the test; the two unused guides were used for observer shade selection. One of the shade guides used for shade selection was arranged according to hue and chroma, the second was arranged according to value. Thirty observers made 420 shade selection in 2 different sessions. The data obtained was analyzed using the Kendall’s tau-b test. In addition, sensitivity and positive predictive values were also calculated. Results: Based on the sample size used and the α = 0.05, Power = 0.90, the study detected a 46.3% accuracy with reference to the shade matching with shade guide arranged according to hue/chroma and a 46.5% accuracy with reference to shade matching with shade guide arranged according to value.