Method for manufacturing coloring ceramics via colloidal dispersion followed by conventional pressing techniques

A method of coloring a dental ceramic product that is fabricated using a colloidal mixing process to form a ceramic slurry which can be combined with a binder, then dried, pressed and sintered;

• the method comprising the steps of:
• a) forming a coloring solution consisting essentially of at least one metallic salt, a solvent, an organic solvent and an acid, wherein the coloring solution contains an amount of metallic salts in a range of 0.01 to 5% by weight of the coloring solution, and the metallic salts comprise TbCl3 and CrCl3;
• b) choosing the relative constituents of the coloring solution to provide a selected color;
• c) choosing the relative amount of the coloring solution for an amount of a ceramic slurry to provide a selected color intensity;
• d) adding the coloring solution to the ceramic slurry and mixing to homogeneously distribute the coloring solution throughout the slurry;
• and
• e) adding a binder to the mixture of the coloring solution and the ceramic slurry.

A method of forming a colored zirconia ceramic powder material for use in making a dental ceramic product comprising:

• a) obtaining a coloring solution consisting essentially of water, at least one metallic salt as a coloring agent, and optionally an organic solvent, and optionally an acid;
• b) choosing an amount of the coloring solution for an amount of a zirconia ceramic slurry to provide a selected color intensity in a sintered dental ceramic product made from a colored zirconia ceramic powder material;
• c) adding the amount of coloring solution to the amount of zirconia ceramic slurry to form a mixture of the zirconia ceramic slurry and the coloring solution;
• d) combining the mixture of step c) and a binder;
• and
• e) drying a mixture of the coloring solution, the zirconia ceramic slurry and the binder to form the colored zirconia ceramic powder material.