ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dental shade guides are used before restorative and prosthodontic procedures for the evaluation of tooth color. The spectral coverage of the specific shaded guide and a clinician's experience in shade matching are the two most important factors for a clinically viable shade match of the restoration to the given tooth. Repeated disinfection of the shade guide with disinfectant lead to a clinically significant difference of the shade to be matched, finally resulting in a clinically unacceptable prosthesis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of disinfection on various shade tabs of VITA 3D Master Shade guide after being subjected to 2 years of simulated disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol. METHODOLOGY: Two sets of VITA 3-D Master Shade Guides were used. One set of each shade guide was assessed after simulated use and surface disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol (test group), while the other full set was subjected to cleansing with distilled water (control group). Spectrophotometer was used to measure each of the shade tabs. Readings were recorded at regular intervals of 120, 240, 360, 480, 600, 720, 840, and 960 disinfection cycles. The ΔE values obtained were used to examine the color difference. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in terms of ΔE between the shade tabs of control and test groups of VITA 3D Master shade guides after 960 cycles of disinfection. The change in mean ΔE was more in the test specimens in the shade tabs of VITA 3D Master Shade Guide tabs than the control specimens. These results are of statistical significance, but they might not be of any clinical significance. CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant but clinically nonsignificant color change in the shade tabs of VITA 3D Master shade guides after 2 years of simulated use and disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol.
