The invention provides methods of making provisional and long-term dental restorations, particularly dental veneers, crowns and bridges. In one embodiment, the restoration can be fabricated indirectly by a dental laboratory. In another version, a dental practitioner can make the restoration chairside for a patient in a dental office. A polymerizable dental composite material, which is dimensionally shape-stable in its uncured state, is used to make the restoration. The material includes a polymerizable acrylic compound, polymerization initiator system capable of being activated by light or heat, and a filler material. The resulting dental restoration has good aesthetics, mechanical strength, and margins and contacts.