According to researchers in America, chemicals contained in most toothpaste can change the taste receptors in the tongue, which explains why products like orange juice tastes so bitter after the teeth have been brushed. A new study has revealed that this sensation can be related to a chemical called sodium lauryl sulphate, a detergent that is commonly found in toothpaste.
The detergent suppresses sweet tastes on the tongue and breaks down the compounds that would stop bitter tastes from coming through. The findings were published as an online video journal called Reactions, which can be found on the American Chemical Society’s website. The video details the 10,000 taste buds and 100 taste receptors on the tongue, which are affected by the detergent found in the toothpaste.
The video specifies that the sweet receptors are inhibited and explains that ‘this opens up a clear pathway for bitter molecules to reach taste receptors in the mouth.’ The scientists goes on to say that this is the ‘most likely’ reason why orange juice changes taste from sweet to sour when drunk after the teeth have been brushed.