Academy members were honored at an awards ceremony during the AAP’s 111th Annual Meeting in Toronto.
CHICAGO – Oct. 28, 2025- On Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, AAP award recipients were celebrated at a ceremony during the Academy’s 111th Annual Meeting in Toronto.
Every year at the Annual Meeting, the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) honors and celebrates members whose service, dedication, and accomplishments have made a significant impact on the field of periodontics. This event brings together top clinicians, researchers, and educators contributing to periodontal science, clinical practice, and leadership within the profession.
Gold Medal: In 2025, the Academy was pleased to present its highest honor – the Gold Medal – to Dr. Joan Otomo-Corgel. Dr. Otomo-Corgel is being recognized with the Gold Medal largely for her outstanding service as a past president of the American Academy of Periodontology and a past President of the AAP Foundation. She has also led the Western Society of Periodontology, the California Society of Periodontists, and the Los Angeles Dental Society as their president. She is currently the Secretary of the California Dental Association whose 27,000 members include 1out of 6 dentists who are members in organized dentistry. Dr. Otomo-Corgel has given selflessly of her time and energy to elevate the AAP and advance the field of periodontology since she first joined the organization in 1977. She chaired the first AAP Dental Hygiene Committee in 1984 and a Task Force on Dental Hygiene Education in 1998. She represented the AAP in developing the World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal Diseases and hosted the first Los Angeles Perio Dash which has now developed into the AAP Foundation’s largest. She and her husband have opened her hearts and home to families needing shelter during the California fires, embraces periodontal residents like family, and has dedicated 49 years of service to the oral health care of our veterans. In addition to her roles as a clinical professor at UCLA and faculty at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, she also lectures extensively on periodontal medicine and clinical periodontal topics and has contributed to more than 60 journals and textbooks. She is a past Trustee of the California State University System. She is currently a Trustee of Mount St. Mary’s University, immediate past chair of the UCLA School of Dentistry Board of Counselors and is a Director on the Fresno State University Board of Governors Foundation. Dr. Otomo-Corgel currently practices periodontics and implantology in Manhattan Beach, CA. She received her DDS from UCLA School of Dentistry in 1976. She completed her general practice residency and postdoctoral periodontics residency at the West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital in 1977 and 1979, respectively. She obtained her master’s degree in public health from UCLA School of Public Health in 1980.
Master Clinician: The 2025 Master Clinician Award was sponsored by HuFriedyGroup. The 2025 winner of the Master Clinician award was Dr. David Paul Mathews. For years, Dr. Mathews has been an innovator in interdisciplinary care, teaching the management of advanced cases that require periodontics, orthodontics, and all other dental specialties. His renowned 2002 paper, where he demonstrated for the world the pediculated connective tissue graft, was a landmark publication, and this procedure is still one of the most highly recommended procedures for advanced defects in the esthetic zone. His book, which he co-authored with Dr. Vince Kokich Sr., “Orthodontic and Surgical Management of Impacted Teeth,” is a staple for periodontists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons. Dr. Mathews has donated so much of his time and energy to lecture at our Academy meetings, as well as worldwide, and he was the featured speaker at AAP’s Opening General Session at the 2022 Annual Meeting. He was an affiliate professor in graduate periodontics at the University of Washington until his retirement in 2018 and in full-time practice in Tacoma, Washington until 2016. He continues to write and speak on perio/ortho treatment, interdisciplinary dentistry, and implants in the esthetic zone. He will be playing in his 37th consecutive hard ball World Series in Florida following the Annual Meeting. Dr. Mathews received his dental degree at UCLA in 1969 and his certificate in periodontics from the University of Washington in 1974.
Distinguished Scientist: The 2025 Distinguished Scientist Award was sponsored by Crest + Oral-B. The recipient of this award was Dr. Dimitris Tatakis. Dr. Tatakis serves as Professor of Periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. He previously served as Professor and Director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Dr. Tatakis completed his dental education at the National University of Athens, Greece. He then attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned a certificate in Periodontics and a PhD in Oral Biology. He has authored over 190 peer-reviewed scholarly articles, several book chapters, and a textbook. His active research interests include periodontal plastic surgery and wound healing outcomes. His research has been recognized with awards such as the R. Earl Robinson Periodontal Regeneration Award and the E. Bud Tarrson Research Award in Oral Plastic Surgery. He is a recipient of the AAP Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award. Dr. Tatakis serves as Director of the American Board of Periodontology and on the editorial boards of several biomedical publications, including the Journal of Clinical Periodontology and the Journal of Periodontal Research. He lectures nationally and internationally.
Distinguished Service: The 2025 Distinguished Service Award recipient was Dr. James G. Wilson. Dr. Wilson completed his dental school and periodontal training at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. He is a longtime member of the Academy, Southern Academy of Periodontology and the Florida Association of Periodontists, serving as the President of the latter in 2009-2010. In 2010 he began the first of two terms serving as a Trustee for District 3 of the AAP. While serving as a trustee, he participated on and chaired multiple committees and task forces. For his work as a member and the chair of the Task Force on General Assembly Voting, Dr. Wilson and other members of the task force were the recipients of an Academy special citation. Dr. Wilson served as an Academy officer for five years including as the AAP’s President in 2020-2021. During his time as an officer, he championed the Academy’s engagement with dental hygienists. He served as a member on the Task Force on Dental Hygiene Engagement, the group responsible for developing the Academy’s dental hygiene recognition program as well as the dental hygiene study club program. In 2024 this group was also awarded in AAP special citation. He currently serves as a director and is the incoming Secretary-Treasurer of the AAP Foundation. Dr. Wilson resides in Tampa, Florida and is a co-owner of Tampa Bay Periodontics and Implant Dentistry. He has been honored with Fellowship in the American and International Colleges of Dentists as well as the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr. Wilson has also received his Board Certification in Periodontology and Dental Implant Surgery from the American Board of Periodontology.
Outstanding Periodontal Educator: The 2025 Outstanding Periodontal Educator Award was supported by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. The Academy’s Outstanding Periodontal Educator for 2025 was Dr. Herbert Selipsky. Dr. Selipsky arrived at the University of Washington after graduating from dental school in South Africa in 1961 and earning a postgraduate degree in prosthodontics in 1965. He practiced privately until 1970, when he was accepted into the UW Perio program. He called the offer of a full-time faculty position after his residency “the honor of a lifetime.” Dr. Selipsky served full-time as a member of UW’s faculty for 25 years after receiving his MSD, then another 25 years part time. During his time there he established The Selipsky Endowed Fund in Periodontics to help cover tuition for perio residencies. He continues to teach the surgery course to incoming residents. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and has authored multiple contributions to the literature.
R. Earl Robinson Regeneration: This award is made possible by a generous contribution to the AAP Foundation from the estate of R. Earl Robinson. This award was established by Dr. R. Earl Robinson (1922-1995) to encourage research in periodontal regeneration. It is presented to the author(s) of the peer-reviewed published paper that has contributed most to the knowledge of periodontal regeneration in a given calendar year. The research work can be either in the basic or clinical sciences.
Article: The efficacy of reconstructive therapy in the surgical management of peri-implantitis: A 3-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial. Renvert S, Giovannoli JL, Rinke S. J Clin Periodontol. 2024 Oct;51(10):1267–1276.
Lead Author: Dr. Stefan Renvert
Contributing Authors: Drs. Jean-Louis Giovannoli, Sven Rinke
Clinical Research: The Clinical Research Award is presented to the most outstanding scientific published article with direct clinical relevance in periodontics. The paper should present new information which may be readily used by practitioners in the evaluation and/or management of patients with periodontal diseases.
Article: Salivary and serum inflammatory biomarkers during periodontitis progression and after treatment. J Clin Periodontol. Teles FRF, Chandrasekaran G, Martin L, et al. 2024 Dec;51(12):1619-1631.
Lead Author: Dr. Flavia R Teles
Contributing Authors: Drs. Ganesh Chandrasekaran, Lynn Martin, Michele J. Patel, Camila Pinheiro Furquim, Michael J Kallan, Andrew J. Cucchiara, Tahir Hamza, Alpdogan Kantarci, Olivia Urquhart, James Sugai, William Giannobile
About the American Academy of Periodontology
The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) represents nearly 7,500 periodontists—specialists in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth, and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontics is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.
