Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the perceptibility and acceptability threshold values for color differentiation at the restoration and mucosa levels.
Materials and methods: One restored single-tooth implant and the contralateral reference tooth were spectrophotometrically assessed in 20 patients. Perceptibility and acceptability were evaluated by dentists, dental technicians, and laypeople.
Results: Dental technicians had the highest sensitivity in the perception of tooth color differences (ΔE = 2.7), followed by dentists (ΔE = 3.3) and laypeople (ΔE = 4.4). Acceptability threshold values were generally higher than perceptibility threshold in all groups. Dental technicians exhibited the highest sensitivity in the perception of mucosa color differences (50% perceptibility at ΔE = 2.65), followed by dentists (ΔE > 3.7) and laypeople (ΔE > 6).
Conclusion: Color differences were tolerated with varying degrees among the three groups. Laypeople accepted higher color differences at the mucosa level.