Washing your mouth with soap is a form of punishment we (thankfully) don’t condone anymore—and yet, unknowingly, we willingly do it to ourselves every day.

Have you noticed that many common brands of toothpaste foam as you brush? This is caused by sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a chemical surfactant and detergent also found in most shampoos and body washes. Read carefully, as it may be on the ingredients list under a different name due to slight chemical modifications: Sodium dodecyl sulfate, sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, sodium salt, sodium salt sulfuric acid, and sodium dodecyl sulfate are some of its other monikers.

Here is a brief list of what SLS can do:

• Diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea when ingested.
• Inflammation, ulcers, and irritation (peeling) of skin in and around your mouth.
• Inhibit wound healing and fibroblasts in your mouth, as the skin and mucous membrane is a highly absorbent organ.
• Lather into a foam.

The foaming effect is pure theatrics, meant to give the illusion of rub-a-dub-dub effectiveness while irritating the delicate balance in your mouth. In other words, the bubbles don’t clean your teeth, and they may cause more harm than good.

If you love bubbles, save them for your bath and hand soap. Foaming at the mouth should always be avoided.

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About Dr. Derek

He is not only Co-Founder of RiseWell. Dr. Derek Gatta is a partner at Dr Max & Dr Gatta PLLC in Boca Raton, Florida. If you are in the area, he is your go-to dentist!