The buccal or sublingual forms of the medication have their advantages, as the drug can absorb rapidly, it is a significant option during emergencies, while the drug is required to work immediately, like during a heart attack.
Sublingual and buccal are solid oral dosage forms of oral administration; they are two different methods of administering medication by mouth. Sublingual administration involves a medication that is placed under the tongue so that it can be dissolved and it can be absorbed into the blood through the tissue there. Buccal administration involves a medication that’s placed between gums and cheeks so that it can be dissolved and gets absorbed into the blood. Sublingual and buccal come in different types such as bullets, films, or sprays.
Advantages of buccal and sublingual administration:
- The major advantage of sublingual or buccal administration is that they provide a rapid onset of pharmacological effects of drugs, particularly for use in the treatment of acute disorders.
- Sublingual tablets quickly disintegrate and small amounts of saliva are usually enough to achieve disintegration of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) with improved dissolution and increased bioavailability.
- The direct compression method is generally used to manufacture these types of tablets that are a simple, cost-effective, and efficient process.
- It is easy to take for patients, especially the elderly and children who have problems swallowing pills and capsules, no need to swallow, just placed under the tongue or between the cheeks and gum.
- Buccal and sublingual form of medication is a better route as compared with oral drug delivery system, it bypasses hepatic metabolism. It does not go through the digestive system, hence they do not metabolize through the liver.
- Buccal and sublingual administration of the drug is also suitable for those patients who have difficulties in swallowing, suffering from nausea, and even for unconscious patients.
- It reduces interaction with other drugs and foods when compared with liquid dosage forms and solid dosage forms.
Disadvantages of sublingual or buccal administration:
- The major disadvantage of the sublingual or buccal dosage form is that it is not for high drug dosing, because of the small size of the oral cavity; just a few very potent drugs can be delivered effectively.
- It is difficult to formulate drugs that have an unpleasant taste and odor or irritant to the mucosa, as such drugs are dissolved in saliva for mucosal absorption, and they may interact with taste buds in the mouth.
- Some patients have difficulty keeping the drug on-site, as well as requiring the patient to refrain from talking, drinking, or swallowing during administration.
- If a patient suffering from any open sores in the mouth, it may become irritated by the medication.
- Not all medicines are suitable for making sublingual or buccal tablets, it is important to consider the physicochemical properties and mechanism of absorption of active ingredients.
- It is more rapidly than capsule, tablets, and caplets hence may be swallowed accidentally, might be uncomfortable to the patient.
- The physical and mechanical characteristics of the tablet, such as hardness, size, wettability, and porosity are the factors that commonly affect the manufacturing of sublingual or buccal tablets; they play a significant role in its dissolution time.
- This type of drug delivery system is not suited for drugs that need to be processed slowly by the system, such as prolong or extended-release formulations.
Commonly asked questions on tablet dosage forms are as follows.
What are the advantages of effervescent tablets?
The major advantage is it provides an improved taste of the medication and has faster absorption of the drug.
What is the disadvantage of chewable tablets?
If the drug has a problem regarding bitter or foul-tasting are difficult to formulate in a chewable tablet with a pleasant taste.
What is the major advantage of enteric coating tablets?
The major advantage of enteric coating tablets is that they provide a long or controlled therapeutic action of the drug.
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