Orotransmucosal Drug Delivery System: a Forgotten Hero

Good oral health is of important for general health and well-being of the individual. Several innovative drug delivery systems have been developed for the local treatment and prevention of various diseases in the oral cavity. However, currently there are only few optimal systems and many of them are plagued with therapeutic challenges, like low drug efficacy and retention at targeted site of action. Oral mucosal drug delivery is an alternative method of systemic drug delivery that offers several advantages over both injectable and enteral methods. Because the oral mucosa is highly vascularised, drugs that are absorbed through the oral mucosa directly enter the systemic circulation, bypassing the gastrointestinal tract and first-pass metabolism in the liver resulting in rapid onset of action via more comfortable and convenient delivery route than the intravenous route. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the latest drug delivery strategies for the local treatment and prevention of the oral pathologies and new potential bioadhesive local delivery systems. Furthermore, the most promising mucoadhesive systems proposed to locally treat oral diseases have been discussed.