STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Data are lacking on interdental papillae color, including the effect of sociodemographic or behavioral factors, and which ceramic gingival specimens best match it. PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical study was to determine the color coordinates of healthy gingival papillae and compare them according to sex, age, dental hygiene, and smoking habits, to compare the color coordinates of the papillae to other gingival zones, and to present a valid set of pink ceramic specimens for use in subjective color selection with the gingival papillae. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Color coordinates of the attached gingiva and interdental papillae adjacent to the maxillary incisor were recorded by using spectrophotometry (Spectroshade
MHT Optic Research) in 62 White participants (124 papillae). To determine which color specimens best represented the interdental papillae, according to the acceptability thresholds (AT), 2 published databases were used: 15 validated ceramic gingival specimens and 133 ceramic gingival specimens. MANOVA was used for comparisons of color coordinates, and the coverage error was calculated to evaluate the guide. RESULTS: The color-coordinate ranges of the interdental papillae were: L*: 42.2 to 57.5
a*: 16.8 to 30.6
and b*: 11.2 to 18.1. Statistically significant differences were found between all gingival zones for all color coordinates (P<
.05). The interdental papillae were less yellow than the middle zone of attached gingiva and the free gingival margin, and redder than the mucogingival line. Using the Euclidean formula, the coverage error of the 15-specimen gingival guide was 2.71. CONCLUSIONS: The gingival papillae of women were significantly lighter than of men, and the b* coordinate was higher in the papillae of smokers than non-smokers. Age or dental hygiene did not significantly affect interdental papillae color coordinates. Color differences exceeding the AT between the interdental papillae and each of the 3 attached gingival zones were found in a large part of the population. The 15 specimens were useful for subjective shade selection with the interdental papillae.