Dental ceramics are porcelain-based materials used to veneer metal or all-ceramic substructures, replicating the translucency, shade gradation, and surface texture of natural teeth. This category includes feldspathic layering porcelains, opaque and dentin/enamel powders, stains, and glazes used in hand-built esthetic restorations, applied in successive layers and fired in a ceramic furnace between stages. Dental ceramics are selected based on the substructure material — metal, zirconia, or glass-ceramic — and the esthetic demands of the case, remaining central to fabricating natural-looking crowns, bridges, and veneers across anterior and posterior restorations.