My one friend hates the dentist and said it was a waste of money too. He's one of those "taking care of yourself is gay / unmanly" live fast and hard types. Then he neglected a cavity that turned into a jaw infection and almost died. He was in the hospital from the end of January through February like 3weeks i think. They had to take out like all his bottom teeth and shave a bunch of his jaw off. Then he almost died and they had to go back in do even more. Now he has some nerve damage and can't feel like half his face, can't taste food anymore, and it took him over 4 months to be able to open his mouth more than an inch. The nerve damage also causes him to be in tremendous pain 24/7, and he started drinking constantly. I went down there to get my brakes done semi-recently and he took 6 shots of whiskey within 5 minutes of getting up then continued to drink. He probably drinks almost a half gallon a day. It's pretty crazy.
Some people have to learn the hard way to take care of yourself and care about yourself, before it's too late and something big happens. We're not invincible. Some people never learn, they just end up dead.