Assessment of a smartphone-based software application 
as a potential digital tool in tooth shade selection: 
a prospective clinical study

Objective: To determine the reliability of a newly developed software application (Shadent) in natural tooth shade selection.
Method and materials: A smartphone device with the self-developed Shadent software (patent no. 201841046815, Intellectual Property of India) recorded tooth shades of the maxillary right central incisor and canine for 250 volunteers. A prospective, clinical, double-blind trial was conducted. The shade match obtained under the standardized condition from Shadent software was compared with the visual method and spectrophotometer. The digital recordings were captured by two master’s candidates, while the visual shade match was evaluated by four master’s candidates and one faculty member from the Department of Prosthodontics. Crosstab analysis assessed the relationship between the visual method of shade selection, a spectrophotometer, and the Shadent software. Cohen kappa was used to measure the agreement between the methods.
Results: A kappa coefficient of 0.59 was observed between the visual assessment and the Shadent software, with an agreement percentage of 64.6%. A kappa coefficient of 0.65 was observed between the spectrophotometer and the Shadent software with an agreement of 69.3%. The software also had a better Cohen kappa agreement with the maxillary central incisor than the maxillary canine.
Conclusions: Shadent’s reliability was comparable with the visual and spectrophotometric methods and offered repeatability with standardized light intensity.