Frequency of Color Vision Defect in Students of Mashhad Dental School and Evaluation of Related Factors

In esthetic dentistry, colormatching ability is one of the influencing factors in treatment. To achieve this goal, matching the color of restoration with natural teeth is essential. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of color vision defectin students of Mashhad Dental School and evaluation of related factors. In this descriptive analytical study, 356 students of Mashhad Dental School were evaluated. Demographic data including age, gender, color vision defect in relatives, use of glasses and contact lenses, refractive errors (myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism) were documented in the designed questionnaire. To determinethe impaired color vision, Ishiharadiagnostic test was used. Statistical analysis of SPSS version 19 was performed usingChi-Square and Logistic Regression tests at the significance level of 0.05%. Color vision defect was foundin6% (12 persons) of male students while none of the females were affected. Allaffected personswere red-green color blind and strong deutan. There wasa significant relationshipbetween color vision deficiency and history of color vision defect in relatives (P= 0.03), so that 25% (3 persons) of affected persons had a positive family history of color vision defect. Considering the frequency of color vision defect in the present study as well as the importance of color matching in dental treatments and because most affected persons are unaware of this defect, color vision tests seem necessary.