2015.6.16

It was cloudy.

In the afternoon I had once a year dental checkup. Dentist was a female. This was the first time for me to see woman dentist.   I have never seen male dental hygienists.
Have you seen them?

After the dental check,  I have tartar removed from my lower front teeth.  She recommended me to go to a dentist once or twice in a year to have tartar removed.

They gave me toothbrush,  toothpaste, and interdental brush.

2014.6.19

It was cloudy and sometimes fine.

Today at lunch time I went to dental check which was held inside the university.  After checking they instructed how to brush teeth and not to have shiseki (歯石), tartar.  Shiseki literally means tooth stone.　I am glad that I have sound teeth.  Bad tooth or cavity is called mushiba (虫歯), which literally means insect tooth.
I think there are more people who care about teeth in the United States than in Japan and there are more people who straighten their teeth in the United States.  Therefore generally speaking they have straight set of teeth.  In Japan even they have yaeba (八重歯), double tooth, not all the people try to pull them out.  Yaeba literally means eight piled tooth.
Dentist is haisha (歯医者) in Japanese.