Influence of wine tasting on the color of teeth amongst professional wine tasters of gironde, France: a pilot study

Abstract

ABSTRACT The appearance of the smile and in particular the color of the teeth is of great cosmetic importance for many people. Because of the coloring substances that make up wine, wine tasters are subject by their profession to a high risk of having discolored teeth. The main objective of this study was therefore to observe the association between the color of the maxillary central incisors and the profession of wine tasters. To do this, we conducted a cross-sectional study in the Gironde region (France) by comparing the color of the buccal face of the maxillary central incisors of professional wine tasters and controls. The teeth color was measured using a spectrophotometer and the delta E (difference between two colors) was noted by comparison with a common reference. On a population of 61 people (31 wine tasters and 30 controls), our results showed no significant difference in the color of the teeth studied. However, a trend towards the impact of age on tooth color was observed. Within the limits of this study, it does not appear that the color of the buccal face of the maxillary incisors is significantly related to professional wine tasting.