A mixture for an injectable scaffold may include a self-assembling core and an additive. The additive may include an angiogenic agent, a small molecule drug, and/or an anti-inflammatory agent. The scaffold can be applied to sites where bone growth is desired.

Dental compositions are disclosed. A dental composition can include a reaction produce of a reaction mixture comprising a first mixture and a second mixture. The first mixture can include a ceramic based biomaterial, and the second mixture can include mineral trioxide aggregate and a phosphoric acid monomer.

A root canal filling cone made of a material having a composition that can maintain its physical and chemical characteristics and shelf life after sterilization, and a process of sterilizing the point/cone prior to shipment to a user. In one aspect, the cone is made of a composition that includes a plurality of base polymers of substantially equal amounts, and nanoparticles, which can withstand sterilization by gamma irradiation. In one embodiment, the compound includes Gutta Percha based polymers. In another aspect, the Gutta Percha based cone is packaged and sterilized by irradiation prior to shipment to a user. In one embodiment of the present invention, the irradiation is gamma irradiation.

Shaded, zirconia ceramic materials are disclosed that are suitable for use in dental applications. Ceramic bodies are made from a zirconia-containing ceramic material and a coloring composition comprising a terbium (Tb)-containing component and a chromium (Cr)-containing component as a coloring agent. The pre-shaded ceramic body is machinable into a dental restoration either as a bisque body or sintered body. A pre-shaded machinable sintered ceramic body may obviate the need for further processing steps, such as shading or sintering, and may be suitable for use in chair-side machining applications, such as in a dentist's office, significantly reducing the time to create a custom finished product.

Pre-sintered blanks based on lithium disilicate glass ceramic are described which are suitable in particular for the preparation of dental restorations.

The invention relates to a blank (5) for producing a tooth replacement part (1) using a CAD/CAM device (10, 7), comprising a block (25) of a sintered material (26). Said block (25) of sintered material (26) has already been presintered in a sintering furnace (2) at an initial sintering temperature (33) between 1000 C. and 1250 C.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to provide a patient with a monolithic ceramic dental restoration in one office visit. In some embodiments, a dentist is provided with a kit containing one or more machinable blocks, a chair-side milling machine to convert a selected machinable block into a finished dental restoration, and optionally, a scanner. Machinable blocks may have a fully sintered zirconia material solid body and a sintered zirconia mandrel. A plurality of machinable blocks may be provided in multiple shape, size, or shade selections.

A method of diagnosing optical inhomogeneity of a volume scattering object is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a substance coated with phosphorous materials, adapting the substrate to a surface of a volume scattering object to be diagnosed, and trans-illuminating the volume scattering object with radiation. A dental tool including a substrate is also provided. The substrate includes a transparent flexible film or metallic foil with an applied coating of upconversion phosphors, afterglow particles or both.

A glass composition including 65 to 72 wt-% SiO.sub.2, at least 10.1 wt-% Li.sub.2O, at least 10.1 wt-% Al.sub.2O.sub.3, 0 to 2 wt-% K.sub.2O, at most 4 wt-% Na.sub.2O, 0 to 1.5 wt-% CaO, 0 to 1.5 wt-% CeO.sub.2, 1 to 5 wt-% P.sub.2O.sub.5, 0 to 0.5 wt-% V.sub.2O.sub.5, 0 to 1 wt-% Ag, and 0 to 1 wt-% ZrO.sub.2, based on a total weight of the composition. The composition is devoid of TiO.sub.2, Cu.sub.2O, BaO, Sb.sub.2O.sub.3, Nb.sub.2O.sub.5, MgO, La.sub.2O.sub.3, and SnO.sub.2. The proportion of Li.sub.2O to Al.sub.2O.sub.3 in the composition is in a range of from 1:1 to 1.5:1.

The invention relates to glass ceramics based on the lithium metasilicate system (Li.sub.2O.SiO.sub.2(Li.sub.2SiO.sub.3)), which are mechanically processible in a simple manner in an intermediate stage of the crystallization and, after complete crystallization, represent a high-strength, highly translucent and chemically stable glass ceramic.