A contribution to the knowledge on the effect of light reflection on the color of teeth

Boja zuba znanstveno se počela ispitivati početkom 20-og stoljeća. Zapostavljenija su kvantitativna ispitivanja refleksije zuba. Stoga su provedena ispitivanja koeficijenta refleksije zuba na spektrofotometru vlastite konstrukcije. Kao izvor zračenja korištene su različite žarulje: živina, argonska, helijeva i neonska, a kao detektor korišten je fotomultiplikator tipa RCA 6342A. Izračuna koeficijent refleksije koji se kreće između 3,5% u ljubičastom području i 7,9% u plavozelenom području vidljive svjetlosti uglavnom potvrđuje nalaze drugih autora. Posebno je zanimljiv nalaz maksimuma u plavozelenom i žutonarančastom dijelu spektra, što bjeličastom zubu može dati plavu odnosno žutu nijansu.Scientific investigations of the color of the teeth began at the beginning of the 20th century, however, quantitative studies of the reflection of teeth have been rather neglected. Therefore, a study was undertaken to investigate the coefficients of reflection of teeth using a spectrophotometer constructed by the authors. The light sources used were mercury, argon, helium and neon bulbs and light was detected by a RCA 6342A photomultiplier. The coefficient of reflection calculated ranged from 3.50/o in the purple spectrum and 7.9% jn the bluish green spectrum of visible light, which finding mainly confirms the values found by other researchers. Especially interesting were the maxima found in the bluish green and yellowish orange parts of the spectrum, which can give a bluish or yellowish hue to whitish teeth