Very recently, I spent time in the hospital battling three viruses, secondary pneumonia, and Pseudomonas.

When you are not breathing well, you cannot function well — or sometimes at all.

It was a stark reminder of something that has guided my professional life through the missions of the AAPMD and the Foundation for Airway Health: Airway health is foundational to human health.

And that is why Collaboration Cures 2026 (CC26) matters so deeply.

📍 May 15–16, 2026
📍 University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

CC26 is not just another conference. It is a strategic inflection point. If we do not reach the academic world, appliance-driven, siloed models will remain the default. Treatment will continue to be driven by procedures rather than comprehensive medical-dental evaluation and collaborative planning.

CC26 brings our mission into the academic bloodstream.

When students, residents, and faculty are exposed early to:

• Airway as foundational to health
• Comprehensive diagnostic models
• Collaborative care pathways
• Physiology-driven treatment planning

—we influence how they think before habits are formed.

The students attending CC26 will be practicing in 2055.

If they start differently, healthcare changes at scale.

When a respected institution like the University of Pittsburgh hosts dentists, ENTs, physical therapists, sleep physicians, myofunctional therapists, researchers, and students in the same room, collaboration becomes normalized.

It signals legitimacy. It creates a visible cultural shift. If CC26 succeeds, it proves:

• The model works
• Academic partnerships are viable
• Regional collaboration is scalable
• The AAPMD brand is elevated

This meeting strengthens all Four Pillars of AAPMD:

Education • Advocacy & Awareness • Research • Membership & Sustainability

And it protects the mission from commercial drift by anchoring education inside a respected academic institution where evidence leads. Universities follow universities. This is the doorway.

Here is what I am asking of you:

✔ Show up. Clear your schedule and REGISTER.
✔ Invite your colleagues — strongly.
✔ Encourage the best vendors and partners to stand with us.
✔ Bring a student.

This is not just another meeting.

It is about children and adults across our society who deserve early recognition, comprehensive diagnosis, and personalized, collaborative care.

After my week in the hospital, I am more convinced than ever:

Breathing well is not optional.
It is foundational.

CC26 is where we take that message into the future.

I need your help.
The AAPMD needs your help.
Our patients — present and future — need your help.

With gratitude and determination,

Howard Hindin, DDS
President, American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry

#CollaborationCures2026 #AAPMD #AirwayHealth #InterdisciplinaryCare #FutureOfHealthcare