Advocating for Periodontal Health at Endocrine Society Meeting

Diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome are closely linked to periodontal inflammation and oral dysbiosis. Susceptibility to periodontitis is increased by approximately threefold in people with diabetes (Preshaw, et al. PMID: 22057194) and individuals with metabolic syndrome demonstrate approximately 40–70% greater odds of periodontal disease (Nibali, et al. PMID: 23386648). Meanwhile, definitive treatment of periodontal inflammation and dysbiosis is associated with improved glycemic control (D'Aiuto, et al. PMID: 14742655), and periodontitis treatment is associated with a decrease in HbA1c that is similar to that seen with pharmacologic treatment in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Umezaki, et al. PMID: 40070580).

On June 13-15, 2026, the AAP Foundation’s Levi-Richman Integration Initiative championed periodontal health as the oral-systemic link by taking this important information to more than 7,000 endocrinologists and other attendees at ENDO 2026, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. This largest annual gathering on endocrinology presented a unique opportunity to improve patient health by raising awareness of periodontal disease, the importance of treating it, and the dedicated specialists who can help among this vital population of potential referrers.

Sukirth Ganesan, BDS, PhD, recipient of the AAP Foundation’s 2020 Teaching Fellowship and ITL Fellowship, led the delegation. He was joined by two of his graduate students from the University of Iowa, Gloria Moses Fiifi-Yankson, BDS, MPH, and Priscilla Remulla, BDS, MPH, who had co-authored a study presented at the conference, “Metabolic and Microbiome Responses to Very Low-Calorie Diet in Women with Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.” The volunteer team and AAP Foundation Executive Director Kyle Gorden interacted with hundreds of attendees and signed up nearly 250 to receive more information on the linkages between periodontal and endocrine disease.

“The AAP Foundation booth became a place for meaningful conversations throughout the meeting,” said Dr. Ganesan. “Many clinicians shared that they typically only think about oral health in the context of joint replacement, cancer therapy, or medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. It was encouraging to see their genuine interest in expanding that conversation to include obesity, diabetes, and metabolic health, and how these conditions influence periodontal health. Those discussions reinforced that integrating oral health into whole-person care is not only important, but something many of our medical colleagues are eager to embrace. Building those connections is how we move from research findings to better care for our patients.”

The team also promoted the upcoming November 19 webinar Working Together to Stop Diabetes, part of a series produced by SEPA and funded by a gift to the AAP Foundation by Patty and Dr. Paul Levi as part of the Levi-Richman Integration Initiative. The first webinar in that series, Working Together to Stop Tobacco and Nicotine, was held June 4. Recordings of the June 4 program are available now and information on the November 19 program will be posted as it is confirmed at workingtogether.site.

The Working Together webinars are designed to enable referrer outreach at the national, regional, and local levels.While the AAP Foundation engages with national organizations such as the Endocrine Society, it encourages regional perio organizations to reach out to equivalent regional endocrinology groups, and for individual periodontists to invite endocrinologists and other physicians in their local communities. This downloadable flyer provides rigorously cited data on the linkages between periodontal and endicrine disease, as well as QR codes to link referrers directly to the find-a-periodontist tools offered by the American Academy of Periodontology and American Board of Periodontology. 

The flyer is the first in a series that will be created with Integration Initiative funding as the AAP Foundation takes the perio link message to different medical specialties through conferences, webinars, and other partnerships with professional organizations. Next up is the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026, which will be held in Chicago November 6-9. More information and copies of the endocrinology and cardiology flyers will be available at the Foundation’s booth at the AAP Annual Meeting, to be held the prior weekend in Seattle. Volunteers interested in helping to staff the Foundation booth or otherwise get involved with the Integration Initiative are encouraged to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Levi-Richman Integration Initiative was created by gifts from Patty and Dr. Paul Levi and Dr. Colin Richman, with additional major support from PDS Health. It incorporates the AAP Foundation’s existing Richman Family Foundation Perio-Ortho Interface Grants and expanded Patty and Paul Levi Research Awards, as well as the Foundation's virtual 5K, PerioDash. The Integration Initiative’s first investment was partial funding of the AAP’s Best Evidence Consensus on the Prevention of Peri-Implant Diseases, held May 15-17. The workshop had a goal of developing clinically relevant strategies to prevent the onset, progression, and recurrence of peri-implant diseases. The Initiative’s Advisory Committee is currently developing criteria for a new grant program that will make significant investments in multidisciplinary oral-systemic research.