SHADE COLOR DISCRIMINATION BY MEN AND WOMEN

Women have traditionally been believed to be more capable of matching colors than men. Because of this factor women should tend to agree with one another more often than men regarding tooth shade selection. This study tested differences in dental color perception between men and women. Six women and six men, all dental students, were selected and given the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue test and the Farnsworth D15 test to rule out any inherent color deficiences. The students then used three different shade guides and three different light sources to match each others' teeth. Students selected shades for the gingival third and incisal third sites of selected maxillary anterior teeth. The students rotated use of the different shade guides and light sources. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were performed on the data. Generally, there were no statistically significant findings with the use of three light sources and two shade guides for men at the p < 0.05 level. For women, the light source made a difference. The men, as a group, showed borderline more (63% to 58%) uniform shade selection than the women.