Recent Advances in Dental Zirconia: 15 Years of Material and Processing Evolution Over the past 15 years, dental zirconia has evolved significantly, with a wide range of materials now available in the market. This review discusses the key properties and clinical applications of various zirconia types, including 3Y-TZP, 4Y-PSZ, 5Y-PSZ, and above 5 mol% PSZ. The current approach to improving zirconia translucency involves decreasing alumina content and increasing yttria content, resulting in materials with more than 50% cubic phase, which may reduce mechanical properties. Market trends include the production of CAD/CAM disks with fracture-resistant 3Y-TZP at the bottom and more translucent 5Y-PSZ at the top. Newer generations of zirconia layered blocks have addressed issues with flaws between layers using novel powder compaction technology. Significant advancements have been made in zirconia processing, but there is still room for improvement, especially in high-speed sintering and additive manufacturing. Zirconia materials have a wide range of applications, from inlays/onlays to full rehabilitations over implants. The evolution of zirconia from a single-phase material to a complex, sometimes graded material with significant compositional and microstructural variations has led to a wide range of zirconia products with different mechanical and optical properties. The first generation of zirconia materials, such as Y-TZP, had limited clinical applications and was used mainly as a core material for single crowns and fixed partial dentures. The next generations expanded their applications to almost all types of prosthetic restorations, due to the wide range of translucency levels and mechanical properties. The use of zirconia in dentistry has become increasingly popular, with the initial introduction of 3Y-TZP and now with increased yttria content for more translucent zirconia. The t-m phase transformation toughening effect is maximized by the amount of tetragonal phase. The presence of this unique toughening mechanism makes Y-TZP a smart material, which can be significantly changed by external stimuli. Y-TZP ceramics have the best combination of toughness and strength compared to other versions of stabilized zirconia. Zirconia grains are inert, making this material highly biocompatible. Powder technology and compaction/consolidation methods are critical in producing high-quality zirconia restorations. Most dental Y-TZPs are produced from high-purity powders obtained by coprecipitation techniques. The compaction behavior of the powder is influenced by granule morphology, particle size, type and amount of binders. Cold isostatic pressing is the most commonly used method for compacting zirconia powders. The pressure used during CIP is a key factor to achieve the maximum density in sintered zirconia specimensRecent Advances in Dental Zirconia: 15 Years of Material and Processing Evolution Over the past 15 years, dental zirconia has evolved significantly, with a wide range of materials now available in the market. This review discusses the key properties and clinical applications of various zirconia types, including 3Y-TZP, 4Y-PSZ, 5Y-PSZ, and above 5 mol% PSZ. The current approach to improving zirconia translucency involves decreasing alumina content and increasing yttria content, resulting in materials with more than 50% cubic phase, which may reduce mechanical properties. Market trends include the production of CAD/CAM disks with fracture-resistant 3Y-TZP at the bottom and more translucent 5Y-PSZ at the top. Newer generations of zirconia layered blocks have addressed issues with flaws between layers using novel powder compaction technology. Significant advancements have been made in zirconia processing, but there is still room for improvement, especially in high-speed sintering and additive manufacturing. Zirconia materials have a wide range of applications, from inlays/onlays to full rehabilitations over implants. The evolution of zirconia from a single-phase material to a complex, sometimes graded material with significant compositional and microstructural variations has led to a wide range of zirconia products with different mechanical and optical properties. The first generation of zirconia materials, such as Y-TZP, had limited clinical applications and was used mainly as a core material for single crowns and fixed partial dentures. The next generations expanded their applications to almost all types of prosthetic restorations, due to the wide range of translucency levels and mechanical properties. The use of zirconia in dentistry has become increasingly popular, with the initial introduction of 3Y-TZP and now with increased yttria content for more translucent zirconia. The t-m phase transformation toughening effect is maximized by the amount of tetragonal phase. The presence of this unique toughening mechanism makes Y-TZP a smart material, which can be significantly changed by external stimuli. Y-TZP ceramics have the best combination of toughness and strength compared to other versions of stabilized zirconia. Zirconia grains are inert, making this material highly biocompatible. Powder technology and compaction/consolidation methods are critical in producing high-quality zirconia restorations. Most dental Y-TZPs are produced from high-purity powders obtained by coprecipitation techniques. The compaction behavior of the powder is influenced by granule morphology, particle size, type and amount of binders. Cold isostatic pressing is the most commonly used method for compacting zirconia powders. The pressure used during CIP is a key factor to achieve the maximum density in sintered zirconia specimens