The dental filling material for a permanent dental filling contains up to 87 percent by weight of a mixture of bioactive glass particles capable of forming a hydroxylapatite layer and conventional non-bioactive dental glass particles surrounded or embedded in a matrix material. The glass particles have an average particle size (d<；SUB>；50<；/SUB>；) less than 50 mum. When the index of refraction of the glass particles at least approximately matches the index of refraction of the matrix material a particularly attractive appearance results when the resulting filling material is used to make a dental filling. When the bioactive glass particles contain fluoride, protection against further caries is provided. The invention also includes a method of making the dental filling material, the dental filling made with it and a binder for binding the dental filling to a tooth.
