I think I need to reindex my Mac but not sure - help

For some time I've been running into the beach ball within various open, save and attach dialog boxes. This occurs in MS Office but also within other applications like Mail when I try to attach things.

The general scenario is that the box itself opens smoothly but then I get a beachball for 2-5 seconds before anything is selectable or a box is available to type in (like naming a file to save). Once I select a file or name a file I get the beachball again. I might even get a beachball the third time if I check a box in Mail about making the attachment Windows compatible. Finally, when I click the button to save or attach or open I get another beachball for a few seconds. It's all very annoying.

Is the solution to rebuild the index or is it something else? Please help me troubleshoot - Thanks!