Lipstick influence on teeth color appearance

BACKGROUND AND AIM: A beautiful smile with white and shiny teeth is nowadays a must, according to aesthetics norms. The color of the lips, with or without lipstick, may influence the appearance of the teeth color. The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of the lipstick on the tooth color appearance. METHODS: Four female patient smiles were photographed from the frontal view with five different colored lipsticks. Each photo was evaluated by 100 observers and noted from 1-dark to 6-white. Data were statistically analyzed with dedicated software. RESULTS: The majority of the observers noted with lower grades the nude lipstick color photos and with higher grades the red and purple ones. CONCLUSION: Within the limitation of the study, the surrounding (the lipstick) has an important influence on the appearance of the tooth color.