It's not so much about the bills, its about the gum disease that you can get if you don't remove plaque from your teeth.

Gum disease can progress rather quickly, so your one-year time scale might not be frequent enough to catch it.

I'm now on a first-name basis with my periodontist, and a couple of years ago, I didn't know what that was.

I had no idea what flossing was either before googling it (translates to 'tandtråd' in swedish). Basically it's a thin thread or similar you use to remove stuff from between your teeth, not easily accomplished while brushing. I believe moutwash will help as well.

Incidentally I also went to the dentist lately and I rarely brush my teeth more than once per day and I never floss but they thought my teeth looked good. My girlfriend flosses and brushes her teeth like a madman but she did not get any compliments for her teeth. I think it simpy varies from person to person and it's a lot about what you eat and drink.

Where are you located? Every dentist in the U.S. will scold their patients for not flossing.

AFAIK, it is not promoted in Europe.

We're encouraged to brush after each meal, though, using fluorinated toothpaste.

I am from Poland, currently living in the UK. In neither of those countries people floss, and I have never had a dentist recommend it to me. Lots of people brush and use mouthwash instead.