Side effects of sodium lauryl sulfate applied in toothpastes: A scoping review.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Scoping review mapping available literature without systematic trial pooling or formal risk-of-bias assessment
What was done
A scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA extension guidelines using PubMed and supplemental manual searches to evaluate literature on side effects of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in toothpastes. Extracted data were mapped into categories including effects on the mouth, mucous membranes, or elsewhere in the body, and the therapeutic effects of SLS-free toothpastes on aphthous ulcers.
What was found
Identified harmful effects of SLS included oral mucosal desquamation, irritation or inflammation of the oral mucosa or dorsal tongue, ulcerations, and toxic reactions in the oral cavity. Limited evidence indicated that patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers experienced reductions in ulcer count, episode duration, and pain intensity with SLS-free toothpastes. The abstract reported no quantitative values or effect estimates.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes the documented mucosal side effects of SLS in dentifrices and supports the potential clinical utility of recommending SLS-free formulations for individuals prone to recurrent aphthous stomatitis.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose the number of included studies, total participant count, or numerical effect sizes. As a scoping review, it synthesizes qualitative patterns without formal meta-analytic pooling or risk-of-bias appraisal, and search databases were limited primarily to PubMed.
Cited by
- context Studies over the past 20 years show that sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a major cause of oral canker sores.