Relationship between Tooth Colour, Skin Colour and Age: An Observational Study in Patients at the Ibadan Dental School

There is presently limited scientific knowledge in the literature about the relationship between tooth and skin colour and ability to provide fully edentulous patients with their natural tooth color on their complete dentures has always been a problem for clinicians. This observational study was carried out to investigate the possibility of using facial skin colour, gender or age as a guide for selection of teeth for prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in fully edentulous patients. A total number of 127 patients aged 18-60 years participated in this study. The Vita-Lumin and Cosmopolitan shade guides were used to select the color of the incisal third of both maxillary central incisors while facial skin colour selection was done using the L’Oreal True Illusion make up guide. No significant association was found between tooth shade and skin colour nor between tooth shade and gender (P >.05). It was however observed that facial skin colour related to gender and tooth shade related to age significantly (P<. 05). About 19% of the total participants in this study had lighter (L1) tooth shade than those in the existing stock shade guides. Within the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that facial skin colour does not significantly correlate with tooth color and may not be a reliable guide for artificial tooth color selection. Manufacturers should include lighter shades on the shade guides and acrylic teeth. The selection of artificial teeth should be a matter of individual judgment.