Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Shade Matching Among Dental Students - A Survey Based Analysis

This study was done to determine the knowledge, attitude and practise of shade matching techniques among dental students. Esthetics are of great importance in anterior teeth restorations. Shade selection plays an important role to achieve with a good aesthetic restoration that harmoniously blends to the natural dentition. Even though the colour may not be important to the physiological success of a dental restoration but it plays a dominant role in patient acceptance. Patients are currently demanding esthetic replacement that must match their existing dentition, and are more concerned about the shade match of their restoration rather than the quality of the restoration. This was a questionnaire based study. The study setting was a University setting. A pre-tested questionnaire with 10 questions was formulated for the collection of information. They were distributed to 100 dental students at a private dental institution and their answers were recorded. Excel Tabulation was done. SPSS was used to find out the association. In this study, all the dentists used only visual methods for shade matching. 62% of them did not find any difficulty during the process of shade matching. The second opinion from another dentist for shade matching was preferred by 68% of them while only 6% of them asked for the patient's opinion during shade matching. Natural light was mostly used for shade matching. From the present study, we can conclude that the dental students had comparatively better understanding and knowledge about the principles of tooth shade selection. Majority of them did not face any difficulties during shade matching. They had better knowledge about the effectiveness and reliability of natural light during shade matching. But the knowledge about recent advances in shade matching was very less so better training and work experience can help them to understand about the advancements and the significance of shade matching.