Silicone Mask Use Enhances Consistency in Tooth Color Assessment for Whitening Trials: Study Finds

The research yielded several noteworthy findings:

• Repeated measurements in quick succession showed minimal variance and coefficient of variation (%CV) for each participant across all tested devices.
• Bartlett’s test indicated that Vita Easyshade used with the silicone mask exhibited greater variance than either the device used without the mask or the Rayplicker.
• When comparing readings taken before and after a gap of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the results showed full reproducibility in terms of both variance and %CV.
• P-values from Bartlett’s test were consistently above 0.90 for all pre-post comparisons, indicating no statistically significant differences.
• There was no notable variation in %CV values between pre- and post-measurements.
• Notably, the Vita Easyshade without the silicone mask showed a significantly higher %CV for the L and b color scores than either the masked version or the Rayplicker—both of which delivered comparable precision.

The authors conclude that incorporating a silicone mask significantly improves the consistency and reliability of the Vita Easyshade Advance 4.0 in measuring tooth color changes. Additionally, the Rayplicker was a dependable alternative for such assessments. Together, these findings underscore the potential of enhanced measurement tools in improving the quality and reproducibility of data in tooth-whitening clinical studies.

Reference:

Porciani, P. F., Grandini, S., Perra, C., Porcu, L., Torri, V., Diomede, L., & Sarrica, A. (2024). Use of a Silicone Mask Improves the Reproducibility of Tooth Color Assessment for Whitening Clinical Trials. International Journal of Dentistry, 2025(1), 6221075. https://doi.org/10.1155/ijod/6221075