Paris dental issue/language help
 

My mom's temporary crown came out with a piece of chewing gum before our flight to Paris even took off! No big deal... her dentist said she can just reattach it with some kind of OTC dental glue. Can anyone tell me what such a product would be called in French, and where we could purchase some in the 4th. Thanks!

Maybe there is a specific product name or more technical term,but I'm sure any pharmacist would understand cément dentaire. Google Pharmacies 4ème arrondissement for locations.

Go to a pharmacy and tell them "j'ai besoin d'une colle dentaire pour une couronne dentaire cassée".

It would be <i>c<b>i</b>ment dentaire </i>.

I would tend to doubt that pharmacies sell this to just anyone. You may need to go to see a dentist. Cheap ones (if you are not covered for reimbursement) can be found in many of the medical centers all over Paris. My own favorite is the COSEM Miromesnil which is actually now located at Saint Augustin.

<i>I would tend to doubt that pharmacies sell this to just anyone. You may need to go to see a dentist.</i>

I still would start with the pharmacy, as it could recommend a dentist.

The serious stuff would be professional, but in the US, I think they do sell some of that stuff OTC, which is why the dentist recommended that. You never know what you can't get OTC in some European countries, though, sometimes it is surprising (both ways). Sometimes it just isn't on the shelf and you have to ask (like the stuff that prevents motion sickness isn't out in public in England, which surprised me, at least wasn't when I needed it some years ago). And in France, I never could get some simple eye drops like Visine nor something like Pepto Bismo OTC.

these folks in the UK sell it https://www.wellbury.co.uk/dentemp-r...ix-cement.html

I do know that anything containing bismuth is not available without a prescription in France, hence no Pepto Bismol.

This is a nit perhaps but to be clear, you can get eye drops and antacids OTC i.e. without a prescription, but the pharmacist does have to hand them to you, from shelves behind the counter.

There are many things you can't take directly off the shelf, you have to request them or gesture, although mant pharmacists speak or understand English.

There is such a product in the US - I needed it one holiday weekend. Don't remember the name - but it was right on a shelf in the drugstore. And there's nothing in it that isn't perfectly safe. The thing is that is really isn't very strong - so you have to be careful chewing on that tooth - and assume that it may come off more than once. It's really only meant to last a couple of days - not a whole trip. If it were me I would get a dentist to reaffix the crown permanently. (Your hotel or the American Hospital should be able to give you the names of English-speaking dentists.)

And in my experience most pharmacists in Paris speak basic English - at least enough to understand this problem.

Denture adhesive (Fixodent) will work in a pinch. You Will probably need to reapply but it should be fairly easy to find. Hope this helps.

Thanks everybody. The dentist wasn't too concerned and will see my mom back in the States in two weeks. He just said she should try to keep it on to prevent the gum from growing around the area. In any event, we found an English-speaking pharmacist who had some kind of dental glue, but it cost €50. For now my mom is going to try Fixodent, as MizzLee suggested, before spending any kind of serious cash.

It seems that the stuff that I bought - the name probably won't help - was maybe aobut $8 or $9. Fixodent may help - don;t know. but she shuold ber very careful eating to be sure she doesn;t swallow it if it comes loose again.

(On a business trip a colleague had a tooth actually break apart. The hotel found her a dentist and she got an emergeny appt the next day. His Enlish was fine, he did a temporary repair - and she said the cost wa about 1/4 of what she paid in the US.