Sagemax Bioceramics, Inc., announced the winners of the 2016 NexxZr Plus Competition as chosen by users on Dental Lab Network.

Ryan Gottlieb of Gottlieb Dental Lab in the US took first place, winning $10,000. Britta Anderson (Dentallabor Zahntick, Germany) took the $5,000 second-place prize, and Massimo Fabbro (Oral Tecnica, Italy) came in third and won $2,000.

Sagemax also is giving a $1,000 credit toward future purchases to each of the other top-10 finishers, and all of the top 10 were invited to visit the company's headquarters and manufacturing facility in Seattle, Washington. Sagemax will host a banquet honoring them at the Fairmont Olympic hotel in Seattle, and airfare and room accommodations will be provided.

"Each of the talented technicians who participated brought a unique perspective and esthetic to this competition," Sagemax Chief Operating Officer Katie J. Kosty says in the official announcement of the winners. "In the future, we will add categories to recognize the technicians who created restorations with beautiful contour, natural esthetics, high translucency, and possibly more. As the competition grows each year, we may even host competitions in various regions to accommodate more laboratories who want to participate. 

"This has been a fun event to be a part of and we appreciate everyone involved for their time and effort. We look forward to continuing to grow this competition in the future and seeing what other amazing things technicians around the world are doing with NexxZr zirconia."