Do Certain Toothpastes Cause Canker Sores?
askthedentist.com
Many toothpastes contain an ingredient called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). SLS is a strong detergent and has demonstrated in several studies to increase canker sore outbreaks and pain.

I learned about this many years ago and the difference after I started using only SLS-free toothpaste was night and day. I used to get canker sores any time I would bite the inside of my cheek, hit my gums with the hard parts of my toothbrush, etc., and this completely stopped a while after I switched to SLS-free.

SLS is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, by the way, and it’s a detergent. From what I understand, the only reason why it’s added to toothpaste is to make more foam when you brush. But the SLS-free toothpaste I use makes plenty of foam, so I have no idea why they add it. It’s one of those things about the modern world that makes absolutely no sense. The ads and packaging should say in big letters: “now with even more canker sores!”

Unfortunately, the vast majority of toothpastes on the market (at least in the US) have SLS. I can only seem to find SLS-free toothpaste in natural food/supplement stores. It’s extra difficult to find toothpastes that are SLS-free but that keep fluoride too. The difficulty (and price? I haven’t compared) is completely worth it to me though.

TL;DR: The SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) in most toothpastes is unnecessary and causes canker sores (painful sores in your mouth and gums). If you have this problem, you will likely benefit from SLS-free toothpaste (some still include fluoride) that you can usually find at natural food stores.

  • @UnPassiveEnglish
    1•7 months ago

    I’ve always thought I was mildly allergic to some brands of toothpaste, wonder if this was related.

    My symptoms were sores in the corners of my mouth/gums - took a couple weeks before they’d show up and the only way to get them to go away was heavy rinsing with water after brushing (which is not recommended because of fluoride mineralization)

    Switched to Tom’s toothpaste (with fluoride) a few years ago and have had 0 issues since

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      2•7 months ago

      Glad to hear. I used to use Tom’s but unfortunately I couldn’t find the SLS-free flavors locally anymore. I just checked their website and it seems they got rid of most of their SLS-free flavors.

      Also, unfortunately, the brand I had been using, Jason, seems to be dropping most of their toothpastes. It took me a while to find a new, clean brand to use, but I think I finally found it: Burt’s Bees. It seems to be one of the cleanest toothpastes I’ve ever seen, according to https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ and it’s available at my local Target stores!