Students Perceptions of Prosthodontics in a problem based learning curriculum – A Survey

Background and objectives: Determining an accurate shade match is one of the most critical steps for cosmetic procedures. Shade selection for dental restorations is usually done visually by matching with a shade guide. Light from the shade sample enters the eye and acts on rods and cones in the retina. Impulses are then passed to optical centre of the brain, where the inferences is done. Different persons may make different execution of the same stimulus, and thus shade selection could become a subjective assessment. This in-vivo comparative study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of shade matching using conventional shade guide with and without using a light correcting device. Methods: A total of two hundred undergraduate dental students studying in Mahatma Gandhi Dental College & Hospital, Jaipur were randomly selected for the study after fulfilling exclusion and inclusion criteria. One investigator was selected for the study. The shade of the maxillary right central incisor of all the subjects was recorded visually using both Vita classical and Vita 3D Master shade guides with and without Light Correcting Device. Then the investigator took the shades of the subjects using Digital Spectrophotometer. All the values were recorded. This was done between 1100 hrs and 1400 hrs in daylight on a clear day. The conditions of tooth shade match were: natural light, a sunny day at noon time. Finally, all the data recorded were converted to mathematical coordinates according to CIE-L*C*h* values in which L* coordinate, represent colour luminosity, varying from white to black; and C* represent chroma the chromaticity of the colour , while h* represent hue. Results: Results showed that there was no significant difference found among the E values of Easy shade VL 3D and Vita 3D with Light correcting device and also between Easy Shade VC and Vita C with Light correcting device. The significant difference was found in E values of Easy Shade VC and Vita C without Light Correcting Device and in Vita C with & without Light Correcting Device. Also a significant difference was found in E values in Easy shade VL3D and Vita 3D without Light Correcting Device and also in Vita 3D with & without Light Correcting Device. Conclusion: This study showed that the shade selection done using both Vita classical and Vita 3D Master shade guides with light correcting device was more accurate than the shade selection done without Light Correcting Device when compared to the shades of the subjects using Digital Spectrophotometer. Using a Light Correcting Device along with conventional shade guide may be a simple and inexpensive option for dentists obviating the need to invest in a more expensive spectrophotometer.