Purpose: To develop six kinds tooth-like yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) ceramic blocks.
Methods: Six kinds (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5,S6) of tooth-like yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) were made by introducing internal colorating technology, and the color gauged with shade-eye chromatometry instrument was compared between Vita classical shade selection and the 6 kinds of tooth-like ceramic blocks.
Results: The color of 6 kinds of tooth-like TZP was presented in CIELab system. The value of L* was from 68.8-80.37, a* was from -1.0-0.9, and b* was from 12.2-17.93, which was covered by Vita classical shade selecting and Chinese tooth color parameter.
Conclusions: Rare earth and transition element as colorants can endow TZP with tooth-like color with different proportions. It is possible to develop tooth-like Y-TZP by adding minority rare earth oxides (Pr₆O₁₁, CeO₂, Er₂O₃, MnO₂). Supported by Key Project of Biomedicine Sponsored by Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No.09411954600), Research Fund of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No.08DZ2271100) and Research Fund of Excellent Young Teachers of Shanghai Municipality (Grant No.JDY090460).