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.

OBJECTIVES: 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.

STUDY DESIGN: 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.

RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSION: 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.