Shade-match perception of porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations: a comparison between dentist and patient

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction with the shade match of restorations has not been appraised carefully in the dental literature. This study compared patients' and a prosthodontist's satisfaction with the shade o f existing porcelain-fused-to-metal, or PFM, restorations. METHODS: The authors selected a convenience sample of 212 patients for this study. Patients and a prosthodontist were asked independently, under standardized conditions, to express their satisfaction with the shade match of the patient's restoration. Kendall's tau-b statistic was used to measure the strength of the association between the shade satisfaction rating of the patient and that of the prosthodontist. The authors also examined patient satisfaction with respect to sex, treatment location and clinician. RESULTS: The prosthodontist was less satisfied than the patient with the shade match in a significant number of cases. The authors found no difference in patient satisfaction with respect to sex. They did find that patients were more satisfied with the shade match of restorations placed by a prosthodontist or placed under the supervision of a prosthodontist than they were with restorations placed by general practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Patients were more satisfied with the shade match of their PFM restorations than was the prosthodontist. Patients also were more satisfied with restorations placed by a prosthodontist or placed under the supervision of a prosthodontist in a hospital or academic setting. Clinical Implications. Patient satisfaction with shade match is important when constructing or replacing a restoration, and the level of satisfaction might be different from that of the clinician. When selecting restoration shades, clinicians should take into consideration the opinions of their patients.