Lou Graham, DDS, has practiced dentistry for more than 35 years and is founder of Catapult Education, where he works with clinical evaluators of emerging dental products and technologies. Throughout his career, Graham has emphasized conservative dentistry and the integration of diagnostic advances into clinical care. In this interview, he discusses the movement toward predictive and preventive dentistry, the growing potential of genetic and salivary testing, and the importance of evaluating innovations based on evidence and patient benefit.
Inside Dentistry (ID): What do you see as the most significant current trends shaping dentistry?
Lou Graham, DDS: From the perspective of clinical dentistry, I would say we are entering a new era of predictive and preventive dentistry, and they go hand in hand. For decades, dentists have relied on traditional diagnostics that have limitations in identifying the earliest changes associated with disease. As doctors, we should be identifying oral disease early, and I think predictive dentistry is about better diagnostics.
Better diagnostics allow us to intervene earlier, which can lead to more conservative, preventive, or minimally invasive therapies. Predictive dentistry also involves understanding a patient’s risk patterns for oral disease, particularly caries and periodontal disease.
I think genetic testing will become a much greater part of the initial examination over the next few years, just as genetic testing is being used in medicine to identify certain risk factors. I also think salivary testing will become our new blood test in dentistry. It will provide a better way to assess risk and monitor changes in both oral and systemic health.
ID: From your experience evaluating dental products and technologies, what innovations are having the greatest impact on clinical dentistry?
Graham: I think it comes back to better diagnostics because better diagnostics can lead to better-quality outcomes. When you look at robotic implant placement or CBCT combined with guided stents, for example, these technologies can make treatment more predictable.
I also think minimally invasive dentistry will continue to have a significant impact. Products such as Curodont, when used based on appropriate diagnostics, represent the type of shift we are seeing toward more conservative therapies. I think peptides will continue to become an important part of dentistry as well.
Products and technologies that are diagnostically driven and help us become more minimally invasive are where I believe we are going as a profession.
ID: How can dentists determine which new products and technologies are truly worth incorporating into their practices?
Graham: When doctors and hygienists look to incorporate new products, they really have to understand whether the studies they are reading are unbiased. Are there external studies without financial influence from a manufacturer? That is critical.
Then they need to ask whether the product fits into their practice. Does it help the practice and its patients, and does it align with their philosophy of care? That is how I have always looked at bringing products into my own practice and at the research and evaluations surrounding them.
ID: What would you like dentists to know as they head into 2027? What is the big picture for you?
Graham: I think the big picture for modern-day practice is customizing patient care based on an overall assessment of risk factors.
Once those risk factors are understood, I think we can move beyond the traditional “drill-and-fill” model toward more of a total health philosophy. Those traditional procedures are not going anywhere, but dentistry is moving much more toward oral-systemic health.
When giving patients treatment options, we need to understand what they are looking for and then offer what we believe is the best overall approach for their care. I believe the better dental practices will focus not only on what patients need today but also on what is best for their overall oral health in the long term. That is where I hope successful practices will go in the future.
