Dental color assessment through TTB exercises

To verify the impact of taking the Toothguide Training Box (TTB) exercise in improving the individual ability to correctly determine dental color. A prospective study was conducted on the 5th year dental students. The participants were required to carry out 3 distinct steps: visual color determination for sample tabs out of the 3DMaster shade guide, the TTB exercise and another color determination after training completion. The sample included 60 students (19M/ 41F) with a mean age of 24, which made 360 color determinations of 6 shade tabs before and after TTB exercise. 32,5% (n=117) of the color determinations were incorrect in both moments, and the value was incorrectly determined just in 11% of them. Students found 3L1.5 and 3M2 colors as the hardest to determine. The results suggested that a single TTB training exercise did not have a high positive influence on the individual capacity to correctly determine the color for tabs out of the shade guide. While there is no evidence of an immediate positive impact of the TTB exercise in evaluating and determining different color variations for sample key elements, through repeat exercises, the individual perception can be improved and thus the correct determination of dental color and its correct codification can be increased. TTB = Tooth Training Box, CIE = Commission internationale de l'éclairage, L = lightness, C = chroma, H = hue.