Went to the dentist for the first time in 9 years a couple months back as I couldn't get an NHS slot after moving house. Luckily came back with a clean bill of mouth health because I've become ultra-vigilant on not over consuming sugary foods outside of meal time and cutting out sugary drinks. (Not so) Luckily I've also cut out soft drinks because I developed kidney stones after consuming too much sugar-free sodas as my go to drink, so the lack of acidic drinks has also probably helped.
It's an absolute joke and poor dental health has such huge potential impacts both on your mental health but also I think gum ill health can also lead to serious health risks like heart disease, as one major physical health problem downstream of the mouth. All this adds up to increased use of NHS services in the actually, guaranteed free parts - like emergency dentistry and primary care doctors.