Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body has a substantially consistent optical characteristic of chroma and translucency across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of decreasing chroma, increasing translucency, and decreasing strength, in one direction through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body has a substantially consistent optical characteristic of chroma and translucency across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of decreasing chroma, increasing translucency, and decreasing strength, in one direction through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body is substantially white with a substantially consistent optical characteristic of chroma across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of decreasing chroma through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A dental cutting system and method for cutting a patient's tooth includes a hand piece to be held and carrying a cutting burr to cut the patient's tooth. A plurality of guide pins is attached to and extends from the hand piece of the cutting tool remote from the cutting bur. One or more cutting guides each have a cavity coinciding with at least a portion of teeth inside a patient's mouth that are adjacent to or remote from the patient's tooth to be cut. The guide pins of the handpiece slide in slots in the cutting guide to guide the cutting burr to cut the patient's tooth.

Abstract: A method of making a dental crown or bridge restoration includes forming a precursor crown outside of a patient's mouth with a first restorative material, with a buccal contour on the buccal wall substantially the same as a buccal contour on a final crown restoration, and an open space on or around at least one of the mesial side wall or the distal side wall; and filling and securing a second material, different from the first restorative material, inside the open space or pocket of the precursor crown while outside the patient's mouth, and with the precursor crown having a strength substantially equivalent to the final crown restoration, and with the buccal contour being substantially the same as the buccal contour on the final crown, prior to filling and securing the second material.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body is substantially white with a substantially consistent optical characteristic of chroma across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of decreasing chroma through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A method of making a dental crown or bridge restoration comprises forming a precursor crown outside of a patient's mouth with a first restorative material, with a buccal contour on the buccal wall substantially the same as a buccal contour on a final crown restoration, and an open space on or around at least one of the mesial side wall or the distal side wall; and filling and securing a second material, different from the first restorative material, inside the open space or pocket of the precursor crown while outside the patient's mouth, and with the precursor crown having a strength substantially equivalent to the final crown restoration, and with the buccal contour being substantially the same as the buccal contour on the final crown, prior to filling and securing the second material.

Abstract: A method for making a dental restoration comprises fabricating a dental workpiece from a pre-sintered dental ceramic material; sintering the dental workpiece defining a sintered dental workpiece; applying a demineralization-inhibiting material inside the pocket or hole of the workpiece; and hardening the demineralization-inhibiting material defining a hardened demineralization-inhibiting portion with an exposed surface exposed in an opening in the sintered dental workpiece.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body is substantially opaque with a substantially consistent optical characteristic of non-translucency with respect to visible light across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of increasing translucency through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A dental restoration technology is described. A file of a digital model of at least one tooth to undergo a dental restoration procedure is opened. A direction of a cut to be performed in the dental restoration procedure is selected. A bur is selected to be used in the dental restoration procedure. A cut line is drawn to be performed in the dental restoration procedure with the bur. A set of guide slots are generated that are remotely located laterally from the cut line. A cutting guide is modeled based in part on the digital model, the direction of the cut, the bur, the cut line, and the guide slots. A file of the cutting guide is saved.

Abstract: A method for creating a substantially accurate dental restoration from scanning a negative dental impression of a patient's teeth or a positive dental stone model of the patient's teeth includes applying a compensation rate to compensate for the shrunk or enlarged scan of the patients teeth, to the scan of the patient's teeth using the scanner to create a true dimension working file; the scan of the patient's teeth using a computer system to create a true dimension working file; or a shrunk restoration file of the restoration using a restoration fabricator. A restoration can be designed based on the scan of the patient's teeth and creating a restoration file. The restoration can be fabricated using a restoration fabricator.

Abstract: A dental cutting system and method for cutting a patient's tooth includes a hand piece to be held and carrying a cutting burr to cut the patient's tooth. A plurality of guide pins is attached to and extends from the hand piece of the cutting tool remote from the cutting bur. One or more cutting guides each have a cavity coinciding with at least a portion of teeth inside a patient's mouth that are adjacent to or remote from the patient's tooth to be cut. The guide pins of the handpiece slide in slots in the cutting guide to guide the cutting burr to cut the patient's tooth.

Abstract: A dental cutting system for cutting a patient's tooth comprises a cutting guide with a slot to guide a cutting tool. Opposing channels are formed in opposing walls of the slot. A sleeve is slidably disposed in the slot and has an enlarged collar slidably disposed in the opposing channels. The enlarged collar retains the sleeve in the slot with respect to an in-and-out direction and limits the sleeve to movement within and along the slot. The sleeve has a bore removably receiving the cutting tool, with the cutting tool being rotatable in the bore and slidable through the bore in the in-and-out direction, and into and out of the sleeve. The cutting tool has two transverse degrees of freedom, including laterally along the slot, and in and out of the slot and the sleeve.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body is substantially opaque with a substantially consistent optical characteristic of non-translucency with respect to visible light across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of increasing translucency through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A dental block for producing a dental prosthesis comprises a green body including zirconia and having a chemical composition including increasing amounts of yttria through a thickness of the green body. The green body is substantially white with a substantially consistent optical characteristic of chroma across the thickness, and is subsequently millable and sinterable to form the dental prosthesis with an optical characteristic of decreasing chroma through a thickness of the dental prosthesis.

Abstract: A system and method for fabricating custom implant abutments uses an implant abutment connector to secure a partial blank with respect to a milling tool of a CNC milling machine. The implant abutment connector has an implant interface geometry of an implant. The partial blank can have a prefabricated implant abutment interface geometry of the implant abutment; and can thus mate with the implant, and the implant interface geometry of the implant abutment connector.

Abstract: A method for machining a dental prosthesis that reduces the likelihood of forming tool failure includes machining a workpiece to form a bottom surface without machining a bottom cavity of the dental prosthesis, then machining the bottom cavity and machining the top.

Abstract: A method for machining a dental prosthesis that reduces the likelihood of forming tool failure includes machining a workpiece to form a top surface and a side surface of the dental prosthesis, machining a connector between a proximal end of the dental prosthesis and a proximal end of the workpiece, and machining a bottom surface of the dental prosthesis with a spiral tool path.

Abstract: A system and method for milling dental prostheses in a CNC milling includes affixing a lateral side of each of a plurality of ceramic millable dental blanks to a lateral wall of a fixture; securing the fixture to a chuck of the milling machine; wet milling a single dental prosthesis in each of the plurality of ceramic millable dental blanks with a diamond burred cutter; and removing the plurality of ceramic millable dental blanks from the fixture.

Abstract: A system and method for milling dental prostheses in a CNC milling machine includes a larger millable dental blank receivable in a primary fixture of a milling machine and capable of being machined to form one or more dental prostheses; a plurality of smaller millable dental blanks each capable of being machined to form a dental prosthesis; and lateral affixing means for affixing a lateral side of the plurality of smaller millable dental blanks in a space defined by the larger millable dental blank in the primary fixture, when the larger millable dental blank is removed.