A method for fabricating a dental article, the method using a combination of a digitally-controlled reductive process and a digitally-controlled additive process and comprising: a step of receiving a digital model of a dental article, the dental article including a volume having a bonding surface shaped to attach to a site in human dentition and a functional surface shaped to replace a dental structure removed from the site; a step of providing a mill blank wherein the mill blank is fashioned from a deformable, curable material; a step wherein the mill blank is deformed; a step wherein the mill blank is partially cured or cured to prepare the blank for milling, including curing to preserve the deformation applied in step during milling; a step of a digitally-controlled reductive process including fabricating an understructure for the dental article with the digitally-controlled reductive process, the understructure including a majority of the volume of the dental article; a step of a digitally-controlled additive process including digitally painting the milled article by using a digital painting system, wherein where curable materials are employed in the milled article, the article optionally is partially or fully cured, wherein visual information concerning color captured from a dental patient's natural dentition is applied to create a corresponding aesthetic surface on the dental article by adding at least one aesthetic layer of a paint to the understructure using the digitally-controlled additive process, and wherein after digitally painting the article, the paint optionally is cured, wherein the digital painting system comprises a device for digitally painting the dental article, which includes a digitally-controlled paint head, a mounting device holding the dental article, and a controller, wherein the mounting device is operable to move the dental article in translation or rotation among any number of axes in order to position a desired point on a surface of the dental article beneath the paint head, wherein three translational degrees of freedom and two rotational degrees of freedom are provided to operate on any surface of the dental article to be coated with a stationary paint head, or wherein the motion control is distributed across the digitally-controlled paint head and the mounting device, wherein the digitally-controlled paint head is capable of delivering a digitally-controlled distribution of paint within a natural dentition color space by selection among two or more different paints for application at a particular location, wherein the controller communicates with the digitally-controlled paint head to control distribution of paint to the dental article, which may include selective application of different paints to different locations of the dental article, and wherein the digitally-controlled paint head is controlled according to the visual information concerning color captured from the dental patient's natural dentition to create the corresponding aesthetic surface on the understructure, thereby providing the dental article. a step of receiving a digital model of a dental article, the dental article including a volume having a bonding surface shaped to attach to a site in human dentition and a functional surface shaped to replace a dental structure removed from the site; a step of providing a mill blank wherein the mill blank is fashioned from a deformable, curable material; a step wherein the mill blank is deformed; a step wherein the mill blank is partially cured or cured to prepare the blank for milling, including curing to preserve the deformation applied in step during milling; a step of a digitally-controlled reductive process including fabricating an understructure for the dental article with the digitally-controlled reductive process, the understructure including a majority of the volume of the dental article; a step of a digitally-controlled additive process including digitally painting the milled article by using a digital painting system, wherein where curable materials are employed in the milled article, the article optionally is partially or fully cured, wherein visual information concerning color captured from a dental patient's natural dentition is applied to create a corresponding aesthetic surface on the dental article by adding at least one aesthetic layer of a paint to the understructure using the digitally-controlled additive process, and wherein after digitally painting the article, the paint optionally is cured, wherein the digital painting system comprises a device for digitally painting the dental article, which includes a digitally-controlled paint head, a mounting device holding the dental article, and a controller, wherein the mounting device is operable to move the dental article in translation or rotation among any number of axes in order to position a desired point on a surface of the dental article beneath the paint head, wherein three translational degrees of freedom and two rotational degrees of freedom are provided to operate on any surface of the dental article to be coated with a stationary paint head, or wherein the motion control is distributed across the digitally-controlled paint head and the mounting device,