I was super afraid of the dentist so I didn't go for about the same length of time. I also picked up a habit of drinking sodie pops.
I cracked a tooth 2 years ago and had to get a root canal. They did a checkup and found 8 cavities so over the course of a year I got them all filled.
I am not sure if the technologies have gotten better or it was just my fear as a child but the dentist visits were very painless and stress free. The root canal hurt for a second when the roots were drilled out and that was it.
It feels fantastic to not have any tooth pain or agitation of something getting stuck in a cavity.
Most people do.