Oh man I get the pain, my dad is 61 and he's in the same boat as you, his problem was that he never wanted to spend money in dental care cause in Mexico it is super expensive.
I heard dental insurance in the US is pretty out of reach thus most people don't go to the dentist very often, I hope once Covid mania is over you can pay him a visit :D
Your dad is only a year older than me. Guess you can start calling me Tio-Dan! 😅
I am fortunate in that I have Veterans' Health benefits, but the Veteran's administration is not taking many none-life threatening appointments due to the pandemic. Eventually I hope to get around to getting my teeth fixed.