What is ANSI/ADA Standard No. 161 about?
This standard identifies three types of topics related to shade conformity and interconvertibility of monochromatic and polychromatic tissues and materials related to dentistry and describes visual and instrumental methods for assessment of these topics. It also includes guidelines related to color vision of persons undertaking visual color assessments and instructions for reporting of color and color difference assessments.
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Standard No. 161
What are the assessment methods I should know for the measurement of color and color difference in dentistry?
For the assessment of color difference in dentistry, the color difference thresholds for tooth colored restorative materials, established in a prospective multi-center research project should be used: that is, 50:50% perceptibility threshold (PT) of ΔE*ab = 1.2 and 50:50% acceptability threshold (AT) of ΔE*ab = 2.7. These thresholds can be applied to all issues related to quality of tooth color matching in dentistry.
What’s the bottom line?
The color appearance of teeth and other dentistry related tissues need to be matched and reproduced in order to achieve acceptable aesthetics in an efficient manner. Three major groups of issues, related to color compatibility, color stability and color interactions, are identified and considered in this standard.