Posted on 09/19/2007 8:19:18 PM PDT by LdSentinal
ONE OF the tired cliches about Europe is that its inhabitants all have mossy teeth, and have limited enthusiasm for matters of personal hygiene. This is a deporable generalisation, and not a serious subject for discussion. That said... crikey there is a jaw-dropping piece in today's Le Figaro, tucked away in the health pages (alas, not seemingly available on the internet).
The article quotes a pair of dentists, one from a Paris teaching hospital and one from the French dentistry association, and offers the following statistics (without citing sources).
- one million French citizens never brush their teeth
- half of all French do not brush their teeth in the evening
- 57% of French children under five have never brushed their teeth
- the average French citizen uses between one and two toothbrushes in a year
Hmm. This sounds like a situation in need of radical change. Has anyone told Mr Sarkozy?
...from the Economist of London. It seems to never end between those two countries.
Let me be one of the first to also say, "EEUUWW!"
I’ve GOT to brush my teeth and rinse with mouthwash immediately after eating . One of my better habits .
And don’t forget to floss.
Let’s get them hooked on deodorant first; then we’ll try the toothpaste.
snaggletooth frog bump
I remember hearing, years ago, that the average Frenchwoman never washes her brassiere.
Strange people, the French.
Roll Le Tide
Ugghh!
Imagine all that escargot stuck in their teeth. And France is supposed to be such a romantic country?
Ugghh, again!
Ha. I flossed, out of boredom, deep in a third world country on a long biz trip and popped a crown.
Never touched the stuff again !
Oh,........GAG!!!!!!!
Quite honestly, I associate total neglect of dental care with the British. The French I associate with an overall lack of hygiene not confined to the teeth.
Until you walk down the street and the B.O. of every person you pass just about knocks you over. Europeans stink. The Germans and the French are the worst.
I worked in Switzerland for years and the worst offenders in the office were men in button-down shirts covered by acrylic sweaters. What days-old sweat does to acrylic, you do not want to know.
One time I needed to work daily on a report with one of the bookkeepers. Each day his fingernails grew another layer of black filth beneath them. I could NOT focus on my work.
The lack of hygiene goes all the way into the medical profession, where a patient is asked to disrobe and sit on a paper-covered exam table still crumpled and fetid from the previous patient’s sweat. In one hideous office, you were asked to put on a cotton exam robe and then return it to the same hanger, same closet you found it in. In other words, it had probably been worn by 20 others that day (or week?).
I never knew we Americans were so clean until I lived in Europe a decade.
‘Quite honestly, I associate total neglect of dental care with the British. The French I associate with an overall lack of hygiene not confined to the teeth.’
And the British associate Americans with gluttony and morbid obesity. I wonder what the French associate the Americans with? :)
“I wonder what the French associate the Americans with?”
contempt
By far, the worst BO I ever experienced was from an Indian (or Pakistani). I was in a fast food joint, and he sat down about 10 feet away from me. I had to move to the opposite end of the building.
I can't imagine how bad those actual countries must be.
Stay out of Basel! ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.