The Most Prevalent Shade of Anterior Teeth Among Egyptians Attending the MIU Dental Clinic. A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Shade selection in the appearance zone is a challenge for laboratory technicians and clinician. Knowing the prevalence of tooth shade among a specific population can help in proper tooth selection in fixed Prosthodontics. Objective: This study was designed to identify the most prevalent shade among sample of Egyptian participants who receive their treatment in Misr International University dental clinic analyzing different age and gender. Material and methods: A convenience sample of 180 subjects was recruited at MIU dental clinic and divided into three equal groups according to age (n=60):  young group (18-30 years old), middle-aged group (31-59 years old) and elderly group (over 60 years old). Each group was further subdivided into two equal subgroups according to gender (male /female) (n=30). shade recording was carried using a spectrophotometer (3D master Easyshade Compact; Vita Zahnfabrik). Chi-square and spearman’s correlation coefficient were used to determine the significant correlations (p < 0.05). Results: The most prevalent shade of anterior teeth was 2M2 (20.6%) followed by 3M3 (13.0%) then 2M3 (11.2%). Age and gender had significant effect on shade (x2 = 47.340, P <0.001 and x2 = 9.127, P= 0.028 respectively). Young group showed higher prevalence of shade 2M2. middle-aged group showed higher prevalence of shade 2M3. Elderly group showed higher prevalence of shade 3M3. Males showed higher prevalence of shade 3M3 while females showed higher prevalence of shades 2M2 and 2M3. Conclusions: The most prevalent shade among sample of Egyptian participants of anterior teeth was 2M2.Tooth shade is both age- and gender-dependent.