A process for providing fluoresence to a dental ceramic body by treating at least a portion of the outer surface of the dental ceramic body or a precursor thereof with a bismuth containing substance, characterized by the steps of placing the dental ceramic body or the precursor thereof into a closeable container, in particular a crucible; generating a bismuth containing atmosphere in the container and exposing at least a portion of the outer surface of the dental ceramic body or of the precursor to the bismuth containing atmosphere at a temperature above 1000° C.

To provide a method for producing a calcium carbonate block for medical use which is useful as a bone substitute or a bone substitute raw material needed in medical care, which is a method for producing a calcium carbonate block that satisfies the following desired properties: 1) the calcium carbonate block has excellent mechanical strength; 2) the calcium carbonate block can be produced by a simplified production method; 3) the calcium carbonate block contains no impurity; and 4) the calcium carbonate block has high reactivity. A method for producing a calcium carbonate block, comprising a step of shaping a water-containing calcium hydroxide block and a carbonation step of immersing the calcium hydroxide block in a carbonate ion-containing aqueous solution.

A dental filling material or precursor thereof for use in therapy, which material comprises lithium and is capable of releasing lithium under physiological conditions.

An embodiment according to the present invention provides a dental gypsum powder including a hemihydrate gypsum and a water-reducing agent, wherein the mass ratio of the water-reducing agent to the hemihydrate gypsum is 0.1 to 1%, the content of particles having a particle diameter of 10 μm or less is 15 to 35 volume %, the content of particles having a particle diameter of 20 μm or less is 40 to 55 volume %, and the content of particles having a particle diameter of 30 μm or less is 55 to 75 volume %.

The present invention provides a dental product comprising a base material formed of a zirconia sintered body, and having high aesthetic quality with enhanced fracture toughness and with reduced chipping and cracking in the porcelain layer. The present invention also provides a method for manufacturing such a dental product. The present invention relates to a dental product comprising: a base material formed of a zirconia sintered body, and a porcelain layer, wherein the porcelain of the porcelain layer has a suitable firing temperature of 900° C. or more, and the porcelain layer has a fracture toughness value of 1.20 MPa.Math.m.sup.0.5 or more.

The invention relates to a set of porous zirconia dental mill blanks comprising at least two differently colored porous zirconia dental mill blanks, the porous zirconia dental mill blanks comprising zirconia, yttria, coloring ions, and optionally alumina, comprising multiple layers with different yttria content, having a bottom layer and a top layer, the content of yttria and coloring ions in mol % changing in opposite direction to each other from the bottom layer to the top layer, and the content of yttria and coloring ions in mol % being adjusted to provide an essentially constant ratio of the sum of yttria and coloring ions in mol % between the top layer and the bottom layer for the at least two differently colored zirconia dental mill blanks. The invention also relates to a process of producing such a set.

An object of the present invention is to provide a two-paste type dental resin-reinforced glass ionomer cement composition which exhibit high surface curability even under wet conditions, which makes difficult for the surface to become cloudy even if moisture comes in contact with at the initial stage of curing, exhibits high mechanical properties, low water absorption expansion and excellent coloring resistance in the set product and is also excellent in storage stability. The two-paste type dental resin-reinforced glass ionomer cement composition of the present invention consists of two pastes, wherein at least one of the two pastes contains (a) acid-reactive glass powder, (b) polymer of acidic group-containing polymerizable monomer, (c) water, (d) hydroxyl group-containing (meth)acrylate-based polymerizable monomer, (e) tri or more functional (meth)acrylamide-based polymerizable monomer, and (f) polymerization initiator, wherein the paste containing the (c) water does not contain at least one of the (a) acid-reactive glass powder and the (b) polymer of acidic group-containing polymerizable monomer.

A dental restoration material made from a dental hydraulic cement that includes ultrafine calcium silicate (UCS) particles, in the presence of a limited amount of water, so that the hydraulic cement fast hardens while providing a material having suitable mechanical properties for dental restoration, and especially a high compressive strength.

The present invention relates to a dental zirconia mill blank comprising a porous zirconia material, the porous zirconia material comprising Zr oxide, Y oxide, optionally Al oxide, Bi oxide, Tb oxide, Er oxide, Cr oxide, the porous zirconia material not comprising Fe oxide calculated as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 of more than 0.01 wt. %, Mn oxide calculated as MnO.sub.2 of more than 0.005 wt. %, Co oxide calculated as Co.sub.2O.sub.3 of more than 0.005 wt. %, wt. % with respect to the weight of the porous zirconia material. The invention also relates to a process of producing such a dental zirconia mill blank and a dental restoration which can be machined from the dental zirconia mill blank. Further, the invention relates to a kit of parts comprising such a dental zirconia mill blank and a dental cement.

Disclosed herein are methods for functionalizing the surface of a biomedical implant. The biomedical implant may be a zirconia-toughened alumina implant surface functionalized with silicon nitride powder for promoting osteogenesis.