The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a dental restoration, in which an oxide ceramic material is (a) subjected to at least one heat treatment, and (b) cooled, wherein the cooling comprises (b1) a first cooling step with the cooling rate T1 and (b2) a second cooling step with the cooling rate T2 and wherein the absolute value of the cooling rate T2 is less than the absolute value of the cooling rate T1.

A process for making a reinforcing structure (20) for dental prostheses in continuous fiber composite materials is described, comprising the steps of: —a) obtaining a digital three-dimensional model (2) of the patient's palate by means of a three-dimensional scan; —b) defining an operative outline (3;3′) through an offset of at least one portion of said three-dimensional model (2); —c) obtaining a path for at least one height hi of said three-dimensional model, said path being arranged inside said operative outline (3:3′); —d) depositing a continuous filiform element according to said path (9).

A modular support for dental prosthesis is configured for securement to abutments and respective dental implants. The modular support includes connectors releasably engaging respective abutments, collars surrounding respective connectors, vertically spaced planar wings extending from at least one collar substantially parallel to the occlusal plane, and a planar tab extending substantially parallel to the occlusal plane. One end of the planar tab extends between the pair of planar wings to provide an internal reinforcing framework for the dental prosthesis. A method of using the modular support for dental prosthesis is also disclosed.

A method of making an object by additive manufacturing includes: (a) providing an additive manufacturing apparatus including a light source; (b) providing a carrier platform having a substantially planar object adhesion surface, the adhesion surface having a plurality of elongate wash channels formed therein; (c) producing the object on the carrier platform adhesion surface with the additive manufacturing apparatus from a light polymerizable resin, the object having at least one internal cavity formed therein; then (d) washing the object on the carrier platform with a wash liquid under conditions in which the wash liquid reaches the at least one internal cavity through the wash channels; then (e) optionally, at least partially drying the object on the carrier platform by separating the same from the wash liquid, and then agitating the object on the carrier platform to drain excess wash liquid from the object; (f) optionally, further curing the object.

A method for producing a zirconia sintered body includes: heating a zirconia molded body or a zirconia pre-sintered body, the heating includes a temperature increasing step, and a rate of temperature increase in a temperature region from a temperature at which the zirconia starts to shrink to a temperature at which the zirconia finishes shrinking in the temperature increasing step is adjusted to enable the zirconia molded body or the zirconia pre-sintered body to shrink at substantially a constant rate during temperature increase in each of zones of when the temperature region is evenly divided into a plurality of zones of specific temperature ranges.

A method of machining a dental block (2) by using at least one dental tool (4) to finish or pre-finish a dental restoration (5) at least completely along the equator (5a) with or without a holding stub (5b). The method includes: a step of moving the axis (4a) of the dental tool (4) along a path (6) with an overlaid lateral motion having an amplitude (A), and without separating an unmachined piece (2″) from the rest of the dental block (2). The path (6) lies away from the equator (5a) at least by an amount equal to half of the diameter of the dental tool (4) plus half of the amplitude (A) of the overlaid lateral motion.

A zirconia sintered body for dental use may not require coloring or firing after shaping, and have aesthetic properties. A preform may include a body and a stem. The body has a Vickers hardness of 4 to 20 HV (GPa), and is machinable. The stem has a width of 4 mm or less at a position where it protrudes from a central portion of the body. At this position, the central portion has a cross-sectional geometric shape with an inscribed circle having a diameter of >12 mm, and a circumscribed circle having a diameter of <20 mm. The body shows a color change from an upper to a lower end portion of the body, and unchanging patterns of increase and decrease of the L*a*b* color system values from the upper to the lower end portion. The preform can be shaped into a dental restoration such as a crown.

A photocurable composition includes a photopolymerizable component and a photopolymerization initiator. In a case in which a rectangular sheet-like test piece is produced by photomodeling under conditions in which the photocurable composition is irradiated with visible light having a wavelength of 405 nm at an irradiation dose of 12 mJ/cm.sup.2 to form a cured layer with a thickness of 50 .Math.m, the cured layer is stacked in a thickness direction thereof to form a rectangular sheet-like modeling product with a length of 40 mm, a width of 10 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm, and the modeling product is irradiated with ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 365 nm at an irradiation dose of 10 J/cm.sup.2 to produce the test piece, the test piece has an X-ray absorption coefficient of from 9.0 cm.sup.-1 to 34.0 cm.sup.-1.

In one aspect, a method for manufacturing a glazed dental prosthesis includes at least the steps of: a) providing a dental prosthesis body; b) position sensitive application of a predetermined amount of a glaze composition to at least a part of the dental prosthesis body surface, wherein the glaze comprises a heat sensitive coloring indicator and wherein this step is performed one or more times; c) controlling the applied glaze amount at least at one position of the glazed dental prosthesis body surface by assessing the color intensity at that position; and d) subjecting the coated dental body to a heat treatment to form the glazed dental prosthesis, wherein the temperature in the heat treatment is larger or equal to the de-composition temperature of the heat sensitive color indicator, wherein at least 90 mol-% of the coloring indicator are transformed into the colorless leuko-form.

Dental devices and systems and methods for making the same are provided. In at least one embodiment, a computer readable medium containing instructions for fabricating an arch-shaped device for coupling to a patient's mouth is provided. The instructions can include using a denture form device to obtain an impression of a patient's mouth. The instructions can also include selecting an arch device and adapting that arch device to conform to a model of a patient's mouth, such that the adapted arch device may be used to ultimately form a denture.