Awareness and practice of shade selection in prosthodontics: A cross-sectional survey among dental students and practitioners

Background: Shade selection is a critical determinant of esthetic success in both fixed and removable prosthodontic treatment, yet knowledge and clinical practice regarding shade-matching principles vary widely among dental students and practitioners. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and clinical practice of shade selection among undergraduate students, interns, general practitioners, postgraduate students, and prosthodontists, and to compare responses across professional levels.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was administered electronically to dental students and practitioners. One hundred respondents completed the survey.Results: Most participants reported routine use of a visual shade guide (72.3%) and natural daylight (95.0%) for shade matching, while fewer used instrumental or digital methods routinely (12.9%). Knowledge of the shade guide used in one's own clinic differed significantly across professional levels (χ2 = 13.125, p = 0.00), as did the specific type of shade guide used in practice (χ2 = 20.545, p = 0.00) and consideration of cement shade during cementation of all-ceramic restorations (χ2 = 11.494, p = 0.022).Conclusion: Professional level was associated with differences in specific, technically oriented aspects of shade-selection knowledge and practice, particularly familiarity with clinic shade-guide systems and cement-shade selection for all-ceramic restorations, while broader awareness of basic shade-selection principles was comparable across undergraduate, general-practice, and postgraduate-level respondents.