Translucent Zone Registration With Spectrophotometry And Transillumination

Recreating the location and profile of the translucent zone, especially in the esthetic area of the dentition, has an increasing significance in contemporary aesthetic dentistry. The purpose of the current study is to compare the methods of spectrophotometry and transillumination in the visualization of the translucent zone in maxillary incisors. Nineteen central and sixteen lateral maxillary incisors were investigated using two clinical devices - SpectroShade Micro and "ARTIZ". The comparison of the % vestibular area, which was translucent, showed a statistically significant difference between the two methods for registration (t(34) = 4.12, p = 0.0002). This result is expected, to some extent, because of the different nature of the methods used in the current study. Along with visual investigation, spectrophotometry and transillumination are methods which can be used in clinical investigation of the translucent zone. Both suggested methods provide sufficient information about the individual position of the translucent zone.