That is some good news in todays modern world. Dentists are not as scary as they used to be. These days a lot more of the procedures are pain free, or the tools are less crude as a rule of thumb. Whatever the case it more or less conjures images of a sterile white surgical room with bright lights than it does with a dim room, brute force, and a pair of pliers. Still, painkillers in the dental office wasn’t a thing until WW2, and there are still some people alive that avoid the dentist like the plague. Dentists in Austin, TX are still dealing with the consequences of these mental scars. At least a few of them around here I have heard. But as far as I know the only way to combat that now is through public education.
Here is more detail about it here.