The American Academy of Periodontology Foundation has launched the Levi-Richman Integration Initiative, a program designed to deepen understanding of the relationship between oral health and systemic health through research, education, and professional collaboration. The initiative will mobilize more than $2.5 million in existing and new investments to highlight the role of periodontal health as a link between oral and overall health.
A program developed under the initiative, Working Together, will include the participation of the SEPA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Spanish Society of Periodontology and Osseointegration. According to Dr. Paula Matesanz, president of SEPA, “The goal is to foster collaboration between oral health professionals and key public health stakeholders in alignment with global health priorities.”
The Levi-Richman Integration Initiative is named in honor of its founding donors Patty and Paul Levi and Dr. Colin Richman. The initiative is supported by philanthropic contributions totaling approximately $2 million to date, including a $1 million gift made by Dr. Richman in 2020 and more than $250,000 previously contributed by the Levis and other donors. Patty and Paul Levi have committed additional previously undisclosed funds and established a planned gift intended to increase future support.
A $200,000 philanthropic contribution has been awarded through an endowment model to the SEPA Foundation to support implementation of the Working Together program. The AAP Foundation stated that it plans to sustain the effort over the next five years while seeking additional funding with a goal of reaching $500,000.
According to Dr. Matesanz, “The collaboration between the SEPA Foundation and the AAP Foundation, made possible through Professor Levi’s extraordinary generosity, represents a shared global effort to place oral health and the professionals who work in this field at the forefront of addressing major modifiable risk factors for diseases such as periodontitis, which also have important implications for overall health.”
Dr. Colin Richman said, “My family and I are proud to support this ambitious project, and to advance understanding of the bidirectional relationship between oral health and systemic health. Our existing Periodontics-Orthodontics (Perio-Ortho) grants have already sought to strengthen collaboration between periodontists and orthodontists. With this new initiative, we are extending that same spirit of integration to our colleagues in systemic health and addressing another subject that is deeply important to me: the oral-systemic connection.”
Dr. Paul Levi Jr. said the initiative is intended to increase awareness among both health care professionals and the public about the relationship between periodontal diseases and systemic conditions. “Our goal is to reconnect the mouth to the body,” he said, quoting the late Dr. Bruce Donoff, a dentist and physician who served as dean of Harvard School of Dental Medicine for 28 years. “For many years, evidence has continued to accumulate demonstrating the strong association between periodontal diseases and systemic conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. More recently, emerging research has linked oral health to an expanding list of conditions ranging from Alzheimer disease to erectile dysfunction. Although these relationships are well known among periodontists, they remain largely unfamiliar to the general public and to many physicians, including cardiologists, pulmonologists, and endocrinologists, whose patients may be in urgent need of periodontal care.”
Dr. Mia Geisinger, past president of the American Academy of Periodontology and chair of the advisory committee for the Levi-Richman Integration Initiative, said, “Periodontal and peri-implant diseases, as well as the dysbiosis and inflammation associated with these conditions, have been linked to the development and progression of numerous systemic diseases.” She added that while these associations do not necessarily establish causation, patients with systemic conditions are known to be at increased risk for periodontal disease and should be evaluated for periodontal treatment when warning signs are present.
Dr. Geisinger also noted that increased medical-dental integration, including broader adoption of electronic health records, could improve assessment of the bidirectional effects of periodontal and systemic diseases. “Future longitudinal and epidemiologic studies may help further clarify best practices to improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes,” she said. The initiative will support research examining causal links between periodontal disease and systemic conditions while also disseminating findings through education and advocacy.
Planned activities under the initiative include a new research grants program focused on interdisciplinary investigation of oral-systemic health relationships; continuation of the Richman Family Foundation Perio-Ortho Grants established in 2021; expansion of the Patty and Paul Levi Research Awards established in 2016 for prevention-related research by predoctoral dental students, with the addition of a second prize for postgraduate residents in periodontology; educational programs for dentists, physicians, and allied health professionals; and support for projects within the American Academy of Periodontology, including the upcoming Best Evidence Consensus on prevention of peri-implant diseases.
The initiative will also support collaborations with the SEPA Foundation, including a biennial online symposium on prevention beginning in 2027, expansion of the AAP Foundation’s PerioDash 5K run/walk into Europe, and educational webinars for dentists and physicians held in conjunction with observances such as World No Tobacco Day and World Diabetes Day.
PerioDash, an annual 5K run/walk developed by the AAP Foundation to raise awareness about periodontal diseases and treatment, will now expand into Europe through the SEPA Foundation partnership. Educational programs developed through the collaboration will be open to oral health and systemic health professionals worldwide and will include both global and local components intended to strengthen referral networks between periodontists and physicians.
The outreach effort will begin in 2026 with webinars held in conjunction with international health awareness observances, including World No Tobacco Day on May 31 and World Diabetes Day on November 14.
The initiative represents a new phase for the AAP Foundation, which in 2025 surpassed $10 million in cumulative grants, scholarships, and financial awards during its 35-year history. Founded in 1990, the foundation supports advocacy, research, and education in periodontics and dental implant surgery. More than 350 dental students, periodontology residents, faculty members, and practicing clinicians have received educational and research awards supported by more than 150 corporate and organizational donors and nearly 5,000 individual professionals.
“The AAP Foundation is proud to continue its longstanding commitment to academic periodontics,” said Dr. Christopher R. Richardson, president of the AAP Foundation, “and now complements that core mission with this ambitious initiative, which is designed to directly support clinicians in private practice and improve both periodontal and overall health.”
The SEPA Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the Spanish Society of Periodontology and Osseointegration and promotes periodontal and peri-implant health through education, research, and scientific outreach. Dr. Richman, who studied in South Africa and England before completing his certificate in periodontics at the University of Connecticut, currently serves as a professor at the Medical College of Georgia and has delivered more than 350 lectures nationally and internationally. Dr. Levi completed postgraduate training in periodontics at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, established a private practice in Burlington, taught at the University of Vermont School of Dental Hygiene for 27 years, and currently serves on the faculty at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.
More information is available at workingtogether.site.
