The effects of different restorative materials on the detection of approximal caries in cone-beam computed tomography scans with and without metal artifact reduction mode

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of artifacts produced by different restorative materials on the detection of approximal caries in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans with and without the application of an artifact-reduction (AR) option. Ninety-eight noncavitated premolar and molar teeth were placed with approximal contacts consisting of 2 sound or carious teeth and 1 mesial-occlusal-distal restored tooth with resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC), amalgam, composite, ceramic-based composite (CBC), or computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) zirconia materials in between. The teeth were scanned with a CBCT system with and without the AR option. Images were evaluated by 2 observers. The teeth were histologically evaluated, and sensitivity, specificity, and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated according to the appropriate threshold. Specificity and sensitivity values for contact surfaces ranged from 0-48.39 and 82.93-98.40, respectively. The AR option affected (P<.05) approximal caries detection of the amalgam, composite, CAD-CAM, and CBC groups in contact surfaces and composite and RMGIC groups in noncontact surfaces. Artifacts produced by different restorative materials could affect approximal caries detection in CBCT scans. Use of the AR option with CBCT scans increases the accuracy of approximal caries detection.