Ann Arbor, MI — November 8, 2012 — A University of Michigan School of Dentistry researcher who has conducted extensive investigations that focus on relationships between periodontal disease and general health has received the American Academy of Periodontology’s Service Award for her work.

Dr. Wenche Borgnakke, an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, and Endodontics, received the award at ceremonies during the AAP’s annual meeting in late September in Los Angeles.

The award recognized Borgnakke for her “meritorious service in support of Academy activities” including her scholarship and contributions since 2004 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/AAP workgroup that created case definitions for periodontal disease.  The definitions are increasingly being used as a global standard, including the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).  The surveys assess the health and nutritional status of children and adults in the U.S.  The CDC/AAP workgroup published results from 2009-2010 NHANES data in the Journal of Dental Research that revealed nearly half of the U.S. population, age 30 and older, has some form of periodontal disease, about twice as high as previous estimates.

“It’s gratifying to be recognized for your work,” Borgnakke said.  “It’s exciting to conduct research projects, make presentations about the findings, and author manuscripts that focus on links between periodontal disease and general health.”

As a member of the AAP delegation of experts and first author of a systemic review about the effects of periodontal disease on diabetes, Borgnakke will meet with colleagues from the European Federation of Periodontology in Spain in mid November.  The groups will review and assess current scientific evidence for links between periodontal disease and systemic diseases. 

In December, she will participate in a symposium on diabetes and oral health during the First American Diabetes Association Middle East Congress in Dubai.  Participants will include prominent oral health specialists from the U.S., Jordan, and Pakistan.