I don't have an answer to your question. My guess is that no one can force you to go to the dentist. I will tell you, however, that bad teeth only get worse...and that really bad teeth can kill you. Yep, that's correct. My mom had tooth problems and was terrified of the dentist. She refused to go. Her teeth got worse and worse. She finally had a stroke and her cardiologist told my sisters and I that the infections in our mother's teeth had most likely caused the stroke (which she died from). Tooth infections can travel throughout the vascular system.

Also, remember that dentists nowadays are much, much less painful than they were some years ago. And dentists are so much more aware of the fears most people have about going to the dentist.