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

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a composite material. The composite material includes 20 to 40 weight percent (wt. %) of a polymerizable component; 6 to 40 wt. % of ceramic fibers; and 30 to 70 wt. % of nanoclusters. Each of the ceramic fibers has a diameter and a length, the ceramic fibers having 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 the length of ninety percent of the ceramic fibers is no greater than 500 micrometers. The present disclosure also provides a method of making the composite material. The method includes obtaining components and admixing the components to form a composite material. Further, the present disclosure provides a method of using a composite material including placing a composite material near or on a tooth surface, changing the shape of the composite material near or on a tooth surface, and hardening the composite material. In addition, the present disclosure provides dental products and kits. Hardened composite materials can exhibit high strength.