Journal of Dental Research, Vol 66, 1438-1444, Copyright © 1987 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
The color accuracy of the Kubelka-Munk theory for various colorants in maxillofacial prosthetic material
T. Ma, W. M. Johnston and A. Koran 3rd
The reflectance model developed by Kubelka and Munk was evaluated for
agreement in color prediction of thick pigmented samples and for linearity
of optical absorption and scattering coefficients with concentration of
colorant in maxillofacial elastomer. The colorants tested were generic
opacifiers, dry mineral earth pigments, and fibrous colorants. Significant
linear relationships were commonly found between the optical coefficients
and the concentration of the colorants. These relationships indicated
occasional optical interaction between the colorants and the elastomer.
Color differences between theoretical and observed colors of the thick
samples averaged 2.96, 3.47, and 1.60 for the opacifiers, mineral earth
pigments, and fibrous colorants, respectively, when measured using the
CIELAB uniform-color space. The agreement between theoretical and observed
colors was significantly closer for the fibrous colorants than for the dry
mineral earth pigments of the same labeled color.
