Application of color science in dentistry

Kim, Sung Joon; Baek, Kyung Won

doi:2010.7.2.7

J Med Life Sci > Volume 7(2); 2010 > Article

Journal of Medicine and Life Science 2010;7(2):7-12.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22730/jmls.2010.7.2.7 Published online December 31, 2010.

치의학에서의 색채 응용

김성준, 백경원

제주대학교 의학전문대학원 치과학교실

Application of color science in dentistry

Sung Joon Kim, Kyung Won Baek

Department of Dentistry, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju, Korea

Correspondence: Sung Joon Kim, Email: samuelsj@jejunu.ac.kr

Abstract

The color and appearance of teeth and oral structures are a complex phenomenon, with many factors such as lighting conditions, translucency, opacity, light scattering, gloss and the human eye and brain influencing the overall perception of tooth color. In clinical practice and research, measurements of the color of natural tooth, gingiva, restorative craniofacial and dental materials are important and applicable to many field. The application of color science in dentistry has enabled the measurement of tooth color in an objective way, with the most common color space in current use being CIE Lab system. This article will provide the color science pertinent to teeth and maxillofacial structure and measurement with geometrical aspects of measuring systems. Also, the article includes the color difference and perception aspects of tooth color together with a review of the range of tooth color measured in different populations.

Key Words: color; shade; tooth; oral; maxillofacial; colorimeter; spectrophotometer; measurement