Comparison between different cone-beam computed tomography devices in the detection of mechanically simulated peri-implant bone defects

PURPOSE: This study compared 2 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) systems in the detection of mechanically simulated peri-implant buccal bone defects in dry human mandibles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four implants were placed in 7 dry human mandibles. Peri-implant bone defects were created in the buccal plates of 16 implants using spherical burs. All mandibles were scanned using 2 CBCT systems with their commonly used acquisition protocols: i-CAT Gendex CB-500 (Imaging Sciences, Hatfield, PA, USA; field of view [FOV], 8 cm×8 cm; voxel size, 0.125 mm; 120 kVp; 5 mA; 23 s) and Orthopantomograph OP300 (Intrumentarium, Tuusula, Finland; FOV, 6 cm×8 cm; voxel size, 0.085 mm; 90 kVp; 6.3 mA; 13 s). Two oral and maxillofacial radiologists assessed the CBCT images for the presence of a defect and measured the depth of the bone defects. Diagnostic performance was compared in terms of the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and intraclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: High intraobserver and interobserver agreement was found (P<0.05). The OP300 showed slightly better diagnostic performance and higher detection rates than the CB-500 (AUC, 0.56±0.03), with a mean accuracy of 75.0%, sensitivity of 81.2%, and specificity of 62.5%. Higher contrast was observed with the CB-500, whereas the OP300 formed more artifacts. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, the present results suggest that the choice of CBCT systems with their respective commonly used acquisition protocols does not significantly affect diagnostic performance in detecting and measuring buccal peri-implant bone loss.