I can completely relate. I have not been to the dentist in 3 years and that is a very long time for me because when I had insurance, I went every 6 months. This time I also remembered my horrible experience of a dentist visit when I was 19. It took the dentist 3 hours to pull one of my wisdom tooth. At the end, she told me 'I should've referred you to the dental hospital, I am sorry' ! It was an agonizing experience.
But worse....my mother came to pick me up in a taxi and she was drunk. The taxi driver told me so as well. I was there, unable to talk or swallow, swollen face, had to walk to the pharmacist myself and get my own meds, pay the taxi myself, make sure my mom walked into the house because she was staggering, and lock my door so that my drunk mother would not annoy me any further. I had a fever and lots of pain, and a drunk mother. That was worse than the 3 hours in the dentist chair.....
I had also forgotten about this for years, only remembered it now that I have to go to the dentist again. How our brains work right?