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.
Most stores (in US) have Sensodyne. I switched to them when I learned that my old toothpastes were causing cankers. I’ll never go back
Sensodyne has SLS too. Its largely a scam toothpaste to be honest. It just has a numbing agent in it and costs twice as much. Maybe youve just gotten lucky but that shit was useless for me and still gave me sores.
Sensodyne is a brand, not a specific toothpaste, and some of their products do have SLS, but sensodyne pronamel, at least here in Canada, does not have SLS.
We have two brands that have that, Sensodyne and Enzym. Both are nearly twice the price as other brands.
And well worth the extra cost if you can afford it.
Through some rough experimentation, a rigid diet of Kirkland Signature Greek Yogurt mixed with honey 3x a day will prevent a canker sore from forming after biting your lip. The non-SLS toothpaste helps too.
Also make sure you choose a toothpaste that has stannous fluoride and not sodium fluoride. It’s much more effective
I use an SLS toothpaste and have never had canker sores but I agree it seems silly to add it when even a small dab of toothpaste creates an unnecessary amount of foam with proper brushing.
and have never had canker sores
They come from a virus most people have living dormant inside them. Various factors may increase the breakout rate, but the virus is the true source. Sounds like you’re one of the lucky few uninfected.
I’d be curious how others feel but personally painfully brushing the sore causes it to heal the quickest in my experience.
Not joking
I notice they heal faster when brushing twice a day but absolutely do not brush the actual sore. I use listerine which absolutely burns like a cigarette being pushed directly into it. But after a minute or so it gets overloaded with pain I guess and stops hurting for a few hours.
I’m telling you though brushing the sore works. Do it a single time, try it trust me no joke.
This is true! In the US, I use Biotene. It’s unfortunately somewhat expensive, (I think I pay around $6/tube), but I happily fork it over for no fucking canker sores.
I found this out on my own as an adult after years of being unable to build a toothbrushing habit from childhood.
-Brush teeth
-canker sores
-hurts to much to brush for a week
-forget about brushing altogether
-month or two later remember that i should be brushing my teeth regularly
-repeat
Now that i know the problem i can buy toothpaste that doesn’t actively harm me, but that doesn’t fix the 20 years of not brushing or make it easier to build that habit as an adult :/
You should also know that SLS is banned in the EU, so this post made no sense to me until I went to Google for answers…
I swear, sometimes it’s hard to fathom the little ways you got it rough over there.
It is not.
Wut
italy here, and I’m holding a toothpaste with SLS rn (Elmex Sensitive Professional)Yep, can confirm that toothpastes in the EU contain SLS
Just checked my toothpaste, and it contains SLS. Maybe the EU has tighter limits than the FDA when it comes to using SLS in a toothpaste.
There’s one thing everyone should know about toxicology: you can use just about anything safely as long as the concentration is low enough. It’s very rare to find a compound where even a single molecule can be considered harmful. There are lots of compounds where the safe limits is ridiculously low, so using them safely is about the same as avoiding them all together. However, there are also lots of compounds where we routinely dance the line of harm and benefit. For example, many medications fall into this category. Technically, vitamins are in that category too, but most people never come close to eating too much of a specific vitamin.
Sensodyne Pronamel is SLS free and has fluoride.
I used to get terrible stomach aches after brushing and it was enough that I completely stopped brushing for a long stupid time. Even when I made myself do it I ended up with this tons of skin falling off inside my mouth every morning if I brushed before bed. It was absolutely nasty. When the dentist used those plastic trays with the fluoride foam it would leave me curled up on the couch for the rest of the day in pain.
One day my wife suggested that maybe I have a problem with SLS and I switched to sensodyne pronamel which was the cheapest SLS free toothpaste I we could find and all of these problems went away. I’m now a regular brusher and feel stupid for not figuring it out years ago because my teeth have suffered from my ignorance.
In the interest of being thorough I switched back to my old toothpaste for a day and the symptoms immediately returned after just one night-time brushing. Sure I could go through many more changes to try to pin down exactly whether it is SLS or something else that’s different between the two toothpastes I was using, and I recognize that, but SLS was enough of a reason for me to switch and I’m happy now.
I thought it was because of the food i was eating, thanks a lot
I am roughly 40 and don’t believe I have ever had a canker sore. I don’t even know what that is.
I do have good luck buying SLS free toothpaste that has fluoride, I believe it is happy brand. Widely available and I live in a pretty remote area. Not always with fluoride, you have to look at the package. Low foam 🙂
you should also know that people in the past would just brush with a fresh twig and maybe some salt, and their teeth were absolutely fine within the limits of not having any sort of dental care beyond “pull a bad tooth out with pliers”.
and nowadays we have fancy electric toothbrushes that are way more effective than a twig, so really i see little reason to use toothpaste beyond society as a whole having been convinced that if your mouth doesn’t taste like mint it’s DISGUSTING.
They also had way less sugar in their diet then
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For my fellow mint haters (we exist!), I’ve found hello toothpaste and Oxyfresh gentle to be a great combo.
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