Mouth ulcers and toothpaste

[Squiff70]

For many months, I've had LOTS of mouth ulcers - sometimes four or five at a time. I get them mainly on my tongue, especially the under side and they look like big craters, but on the inside of my lower lip and tip of my tongue too. I am sick to death of them as some take a week to heal, by which time new ones have appeared. It's a never-ending cycle of pain and irritation.

I read recently on MN that toothpaste containing SLS can cause mouth ulcers. I've been using toothpaste prescribed by my dentist as it's higher in fluoride than shop-bought pastes. I just checked the ingredients and it lists sodium laureth sulphate (SLS).

Does anyone know which toothpaste(s) are free of SLS please? I think Sensodyne do one, but they seem to have about 30 different types on the market and each time I go shopping I find I don't have time to stand reading every box to check every ingredient.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Also, if you've managed to find an SLS-free toothpaste, if you could add a photo of the box or tube that would be a massive help too.

Thank you!

Ecodenta from Holland and Barret is flouted toothpaste that is SLS free

Fluoride toothpaste

Thanl you. I just looked that up on their website and yes it is SLS-free but it's also free of fluoride which is a bit worrying given my dentist wanted me to have more of the stuff!

I feel your pain, definitely worth trying toothpastes without to see if it resolves the issue, combined with taking a supplement with zinc in it has helped me, but worth getting a blood test if it's not a fix for you. Currently using Sensodyne Pronamel Multi action, beware not all Sensodyne are SLS free.

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Another vote for a sensodyne toothpaste that is SLS free. For me it hasn't eradicated them completely but I get fewer and they don't get as angry and they heal more quickly.

Seriously, you do have time to check the small print on Sensodyne or Dentyne toothpastes. It takes a few seconds and could cure your ulcers. I do it for DS. Most Sensodyne toothpastes don't have SLS but some do.

Another common cause of mouth ulcers is bananas. Try cutting them out too.

That's great, thank you. I've not wanted to bother my doctor or dentist about these ulcers. For a long time I assumed they were caused by me having too much sugar but I tried cutting out anything high in sugar and the problem remained. I'm already taking some supplements as I'm pregnant (27 weeks) so don't really want to add things in without speaking to a healthcare professional.

My mum used to have this problem and got a toothpaste from Boots, I remember it cost a fortune (£8 a tube possibly) and was in a blue tube with silver writing but can’t for the life of me remember the name of it. Her dentist had recommended she try it specifically because there was an ingredient not in this that was common in other toothpastes. Sorry I can’t be more specific but it was probably 15+ years ago now and she’s since passed away, if you’ve a large boots nearby might be worth a browse to see if anything looks similar.

Bored toddler in trolley. Not fun to stand there reading the backs of boxes whilst said toddler has a hissy fit because you've dared to stop for more than three seconds! Hence I'm trying to do a bit of research now to narrow it down a bit!

Lidl's own brand Dentalux toothpaste has no SLS. I've used it for years. I'll take a photo of the tube later.

www.colgate.com/en-gb/products/toothpaste/colgate-total-advanced-sensitive-care

I have this one as it was on offer. Doesnt seem to list SLS

This is actually worth mentioning to your GP. Recurrent mouth ulcers can be an indication of underlying health issues including anaemia. By all means change your toothpaste too but do mention it to your GP.

Are you sure it's not from an infection OP? Thrush (Candida) can also cause ulcers in the mouth, it might be worth going to your GP for a swab for culture to rule this out?

If you go to a pharmacy and look at toothpaste for dry mouth, none of those will have SLS in them.

There are loads of specialist brands.

You can probably buy toothpaste in the dental practice , when I did my tooth whitening they advised me to avoid SLS and told me to choose a tube from the display , none of them had SLS
Most but not all Sensodyne do not contain SLS

Yes we use Lidl own brand, they have a sensitive one but the other types are also SLS free. I’ve had similar issues with ulcers. I found changing my toothpaste didn’t stop me getting them but changing to an SLS free toothpaste allowed them to heal and disappear much more quickly. I haven’t had any for years now but still use SLS free toothpaste as much as possible.

So you don't make the same mistake I did, these 2 contain SLS, I only noticed when the ulcers came back.

I had problems with lichen planus in my mouth and my hygienist suggested Kingfisher toothpastes. This has more or less cured it!

They do loads of flavours with and without fluoride in them. Holland & Barratt stocks them.

The ingredients include 'sodium lauroyl sarcosinate' rather than sulphate, but I have no idea what the difference might be, or if it's actually the same.

No Ecodenta have a flouride version.
www.amazon.co.uk/Ecodenta-Toothpaste-Whitening-100ml/dp/B01M32T10S?th=1

This one was an absolute game changer for me.

I don't know if it's the lack of SLS specifically (I did try other SLS free toothpaste) or if there's some other common toothpaste ingredient that was irritating me, but the Lidl toothpaste totally cleared up my mouth ulcers. I used to suffer really badly with them and now I only get one very occasionally.

I use the Dentalux Sensitive Plus. Amazing stuff and so cheap.

My ulcers were mainly down to folate deficiency and anaemia so it's definitely worth mentioning to your gp.

i get recurrent ulcers, and use the pronamel toothpaste. The other thing that I find causes mine are fizzy drinks and salted crisps.

when I avoid these and use the right toothpaste I’m pretty much ulcer free.

Go on the tesco grocery shopping app, search for sensodyne, or any toothpaste, look at the ingredients on each one. Then you know which to look out for.

No idea what SLS is but any toothpaste with red stripes gives me ulcers.