Comparison of the amount of artifacts induced by zirconium and titanium implants in cone-beam computed tomography images.

Background: This study aimed to compare the amount of artifacts induced by the titanium and zirconium implants on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and assess the effect of different exposure settings on the image quality for both materials.
Methods: In this experimental study, 30 zirconium and 30 titanium implants were placed in bovine rib bone blocks. CBCT images were taken in two different fields of view (FOV: 4 × 6 cm ² and 6 × 8 cm ² ) and at two resolutions (133 µ and 200 µ voxel size). Subsequently, two observers assessed the images and detected the amount of artifacts around the implants through gray values. Data were analyzed by paired t test and independent t test using SPSS 21 and the 0.05 significance level.
Results: The results showed that titanium implants caused lower amounts of artifacts than zirconium implants, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The larger FOV (6 × 8 cm ² ) resulted in a lower amount of artifacts in both groups, although the results were only statistically significant in the zirconium group (P < 0.001). The amount of artifacts was increased when using the 133 µ voxel size in both groups, which was only significant in the zirconium group (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that zirconium implants induce higher amounts of artifacts than titanium ones. We also concluded that the artifacts could be minimized using the larger FOV and voxel size.
(© 2022. The Author(s).)