Do Prisoners Have a Constitutional Right to Dental Floss? Might as well not turn them into their own prison bars. (Dick Johnson) By Angel Castillo Jr. Because we live in an advanced democracy where anyone can claim grievances in court, judges often get presented with unusual requests. For instance, does a jail inmate have a constitutional right to be provided dental floss? Six recent inmate lawsuits filed in Florida and New York are raising such a novel claim. In Florida, five inmates have separately sued Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw in federal court, claiming deprivation of federally protected civil rights through the denial of dental floss. “I don’t care if they file 400 suits, they’re not getting it,” Bradshaw has pledged.