Comparison of tooth shade determination using two methods: visual and spectrophotometric

Introduction: Dental color determination is a crucial procedure in oral rehabilitation treatments, since with precision, aesthetically correct results will be achieved that fit the naturalness of the patient's teeth. Thanks to technological advances, new tools have emerged, such as spectrophotometers, intraoral scanners, among others, which have significantly improved the way of carrying out this process. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of dental color determination with the visual method compared to the spectrophotometer. Methods: A descriptive and documentary study was carried out following a systematic bibliographic search of articles in the last 10 years, which were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The study compared the effectiveness of two methods to determine the color of teeth: visual and instrumental (with a spectrophotometer). The visual method, although traditional, presents high variability due to factors such as lighting, the observer's experience and the individual perception of color. The spectrophotometer offers a more objective and reproducible measurement of color, as it is not influenced by external factors. Although both methods can achieve similar results in some cases, significant differences were generally observed in the selection of the dental shade. The spectrophotometer allows for the detection of more subtle color differences and offers greater consistency in the results. Conclusion: Dental shade measurement is more effective with a spectrophotometer, however, the authors recommend using the two methodologies together.