I have heard that sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate can be irritating to sensitive gums. I know SLS was falsely rumored to be carcinogenic, but can getting SLS-free toothpaste help things like canker sores? Wikipedia says there’s anecdotal evidence that it causes aphthous ulcers, but not a lot of clinical information, so I don’t know what to think about it.
What about fluoride? Is it really important to use toothpaste with fluoride in it? I have well water, so I’m not getting it that way. Is a fluoride rinse just as good as the toothpaste?
The toothpaste that has no SLS or fluoride is about $5 per tube. Expensive! If there really are no material advantages to eliminating it and/or fluoride, I’d just as soon use the $1 toothpaste.