Frequency of color vision disorder among undergraduate and postgraduate students in Isfahan Faculty of Dentistry

An important factor in the esthetics of artificial teeth is their color match with natural teeth; correct color vision has a great role in the match. Any disorder in color vision of the dental practitioner will result in improper color matching, inappropriate treatment, and patient dissatisfaction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of color vision disorder among undergraduate and post-graduate dental students in Isfahan Faculty of Dentistry. Simple sampling method was used in this descriptive-analytical study to select 252 undergraduate and post-graduate students in Isfahan Faculty of Dentistry. Data was collected by using the Ishihara standard color blindness checklist, which consists of 11 pages and diagnoses color vision disorders. Data was analyzed by SPSS softwar and with chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests (α = 0.05). Color vision disorder was diagnosed in 10 subjects (4%), with a prevalence of 3.6% in males and 0.4% in females. Nineteen subjects (7.5%) had color vision disorder in one of their first-degree relatives. Sixty subjects (23.8%) were near-sighted and 51 (20.2) were far-sighted and 3 (1.2%) suffered from night blindness. Under the limits of the present study, it was concluded that color vision disorder is relatively common. Therefore, the color vision disorder test is necessary for dental practitioners and those who are involved in color selection.