SLS in Toothpaste: Why It Matters If You Get Mouth Sores
ORAL CARE · OCTOBER 24, 2026 EDITION
A mouth sore can make you brace yourself before brushing your teeth. When it keeps happening, we want you to look at an ingredient you might be brushing with every day: sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS.
What is SLS doing in your toothpaste?
SLS is a detergent used to make some toothpastes foam. You may know the mint flavor on the front of the tube without knowing the foaming ingredient on the back.
We talk about fluoride-free oral care because it is part of who we are at Garner’s Garden. But that is only one ingredient to check. A toothpaste can leave fluoride out and still contain SLS.
Here is why we are bringing it up: the NHS advises avoiding SLS-containing toothpaste as part of mouth-ulcer self-care. If sores keep returning, that is a conversation worth having with your dentist. NHS: mouth ulcers.
What the research says
In a 2012 trial involving 90 people with recurring mouth ulcers, researchers compared SLS-free toothpaste with formulas containing SLS. During SLS-free toothpaste use, they reported less pain and shorter-lasting ulcers. They did not find significantly fewer ulcers or episodes. 2012 trial.
An earlier trial, completed by 47 people, found no significant improvement in ulcer patterns. The results are mixed. These were toothpaste studies; they do not make SLS the explanation for every mouth sore. What they do give us is a reason to take the ingredient question seriously when sores keep coming back. 1999 trial.
What we put in our Tooth Powder
We make our Tooth Powder without SLS or fluoride.
Our Regular Tooth Powder keeps the formula to four ingredients: bentonite and kaolin clays, sodium bicarbonate—baking soda—and activated charcoal. That is our blue Mineral Boost pouch pictured below.
Take SLS out of your brushing routine with our 2 oz Regular Tooth Powder. Use the directions on your pouch, and keep moisture out of the powder.
QUICK ANSWERS
Your SLS and Tooth Powder questions
Why pay attention to SLS if I get mouth sores?
Because NHS mouth-ulcer guidance includes avoiding toothpaste that contains it, and some toothpaste research found less pain and shorter ulcer duration during SLS-free use. Bring that question to your dentist. We leave that foaming detergent out of our Tooth Powder.
Does fluoride-free also mean SLS-free?
No. They are separate ingredients. A fluoride-free toothpaste can still contain SLS. We leave both out of our Tooth Powder.
Which Tooth Powder is in the blue pouch?
That is our Regular Mineral Boost Tooth Powder, shown here in the adult 2 oz size. We make it with bentonite, sodium bicarbonate, kaolin clay and activated charcoal. Our other Tooth Powder formulas have different ingredients, so choose the one you want before ordering.
How do I use and store the powder?
Use the directions on your Tooth Powder pouch for the formula you choose. Never dip a wet toothbrush directly into the pouch. Keep moisture out to help prevent mold from growing in the stored powder.
KNOW YOUR FORMULA
Adult 2 oz Regular Tooth Powder
Check the ingredients you brush with every day. We make our Regular Tooth Powder with four—and SLS and fluoride are not among them.
Bentonite · Sodium bicarbonate · Kaolin clay · Activated charcoal
View 2 oz Regular Tooth PowderSources and ingredient information
- NHS: Mouth ulcers. Self-care guidance and when to get a sore checked; page reviewed March 11, 2024.
- Shim and colleagues, 2012. Randomized clinical trial of SLS-free toothpaste and recurrent aphthous stomatitis.
- Healy and colleagues, 1999. Trial of SLS-free dentifrice and recurrent oral ulceration.
- GG Tooth Powder: current ingredients and options. Product information for the adult Regular option.
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