Composite materials including ceramic fibers and nanoclusters, dental products, kits, and methods of making and using same

A composite material, comprising:

• 20 to 40 wt % of a polymerizable component;
• 10 to 40 wt % of ceramic fibers selected from the group consisting of alumina fibers, alumina-silica fibers, zirconia-silica fibers, silicate fibers modified with alkali or alkaline earths, fused silica fibers, leached silica fibers, quartz fibers, and a combination thereof, or
• 10 to 20 wt % of ceramic fibers selected from the group consisting of aluminum borosilicate fibers, borosilicate glass fibers, and a combination thereof;
• and
• 30 to wt % of nanoclusters,
• wherein the:
• wt % values of the composite material are based on a total weight of the composite material and total to a value of 100 wt %, and
• wherein each of the ceramic fibers are characterized by a diameter and a length,
• the ceramic fibers have an arithmetic mean diameter of 0.3 micrometers to 5 micrometers, and
• the length of fifty percent of the ceramic fibers, based on a total number of the ceramic fibers, is at least 10 micrometers and less than 50 micrometers, and
• the length of ninety percent of the ceramic fibers, based on the total number of the ceramic fibers, is no greater than 500 micrometers, and
• wherein the composite material forms a hardened composite material, the hardened composite material is characterized by:
• a flexural strength of 170 MPa or greater, and
• a fracture toughness of 2.50 megapascals square root meters or greater.