Background: No systematic review or meta-analysis has been identified that provides a clinician's perspective on the shade selection process for ceramic restorations. The aim of the present systematic review is to find and systematize the available knowledge by referring to the methods to assess the color of dental ceramics.
Methods: The final search was performed on 10 December 2023 in six search engines. The keywords used in the search strategy were as follows: ("color matching" OR "shade matching" OR "color measurement" AND "porcelain" OR "dental ceramics") AND "dentistry" AND "accuracy".
Results: The search strategy identified 139 potential articles. After the screening process, sixteen articles were included in the review.
Conclusions: In conclusion, the most common method, the visual method, has lower accuracy and repeatability. Devices like spectrophotometers and colorimeters provide precise, repeatable, and objective measurements, but fail to be widely applied in everyday clinical practice. Clinicians should not rely solely on their senses for shade determination, but should turn to quantitative methods. Colorimetric devices connected to mobile applications are an interesting and useful tool. Software and apps based on artificial intelligence are emerging as promising tools, but they require further research.
Keywords: color determination; colorimetry; dental ceramics; prosthodontics; shade estimation; shade guide; spectrophotometer.