The dental profession has re-organised service provision during lockdown. ‘Teledentistry’ has been widely used to assess and triage patients for urgent dental care, provide advice and monitor patients remotely. Fear of infection and limited appointment availability have promoted this technology to clinicians and patients, moving it a step closer to fulfilling its potential to improve the early detection of oral lesions, reduce costs, the need for specialist referral, waiting times and improve access for those with geographic, economic or cultural barriers to care. The ability to triage patient symptoms may also help to limit the provision of unnecessary care. The pandemic also offers an opportunity to revolutionise dental care by breaking the ‘restorative cycle’ of restoration and repair and shifting public investment towards personalised disease prevention.