Method to manufacture a colored blank, and blank

A method for manufacturing a colored blank comprising zirconium dioxide that is intended for the production of a dental restoration, the method comprising the steps of:

• introducing into a mold a layer of a first ceramic material, which includes at least one coloring element, with zirconium dioxide as the main constitute to form a first mixture, wherein a first open cavity is formed in the layer;
• introducing at least into the first open cavity a second ceramic material define a second layer, which includes a second mixture with a composition that is different from that of the first mixture;
• pressing the first mixture and the second mixture, and subsequently subject the pressed first and second mixtures to at least one thermal treatment,
• wherein the at least one coloring element in the raw materials in powder form is selected from the group consisting of terbium, erbium, cobalt, one element that generates a fluorescent effect in the dental restoration, and mixtures thereof,
• wherein iron, apart from natural impurities, is not present.