Dental Floss in Paris
 

This may sound a bit strange, but we ran out of dental floss in Paris and couldn't find any despite looking in several drugstores and department stores.

Not a huge issue since we left two days later, but it was curious. Has anybody else had this problem? What should we have asked for?

Is dental floss permitted in Europe?

yes - but they ration it. can't have us Europeans using too much of the stuff ;-)

did you try a pharmacy?

RE: ira


I think its considered a very rare and endangered item in the UK.

RE: violagirl

Yes, we did try what we thought to be a pharmacy. It looked like one, anyway.

well then that's very odd. maybe there had been a failure in the dental floss plant crop ;-)

ok, I'm going to stop being silly now.

I must say I'm very surprised you couldn't find any.

I must have been lucky. I walked into the first pharmacy I saw in the La Defense area of Paris in May. Didn't have any problem finding floss.

Flossing is for losers. It has been shown in many british studies to actually be bad for you. It loosens teeth and spreads bacteria through your system.

I'm 45, have never flossed, and have several teeth still left.

The word for dental floss is dentaire.

Next time bring Marcel Marceau to mime what you are looking for :D

I think the reason you had trouble finding it is because approximately 90% of all dental floss produced in France goes into making bikinis for the Cote d'Azur. :)

Actually, I think the correct term for dental floss is "fil dentaire". I believe that "dentaire" alone is just an adjective meaning dental.
Assuming the original question is genuine, I am *genuinely* surprised it was so hard to find. I have found it in Monoprix and numerous pharmacies in Paris and all over Brussels. And the dental floss by one of the most common makers, OralB, is everywhere. Moreover, it clearly says DentalFloss (or in the type I bought in Paris, UltraFloss) on the label in type much bigger than the small print "fil dentaire" so any pharmacist should understand if you ask for it in English.
BTilke (Brussels)

I think dental floss is like ice, good luck trying to find some ;)

By the way, speaking of teeth...

"What Does 'al dente' Mean?"

http://www.ochef.com/834.htm

I believe Capo, to the bite.

You will find plenty of dental floss in Boots the Chemist. Plenty, of course, because we don't use it. Messy stuff. ;)

This reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer flashed the "Book of British Smiles." :D

"Dental floss crops" haha - have you read Brad Christensen's website?

I thought they used it all up making thongs ! :O

Hi Capo,

"al dente" is literally "to the tooth".

In Italian cooking, it is the texture of rice or pasta that has lost it's stiffness, but hasn't become soft.

You know it when you taste it.