Can confirm. I didn't bother going to a dentist for about 3 years in my late teens / early twenties (due to complacency as my childhood dentist in the UK was the laziest man alive & just sent me home every year saying "your teeth are great"). On my first visit to a dentist after moving to Australia I needed 8 fillings and had periodontitis, which has resulted in painful & expensive treatment every 6 months for the last 20 years.