ABSTRACT
Background: Drug delivery approaches with the shortest therapeutic period and the lowest side effects have always been considered a sublime target in the medical sciences. Among many delivery methods, chewing gum could be perceived as a promising drug carrier that can carry several types of drugs for oral health. These drug carriers could represent optimal therapeutic time and lower side effects due to their sustained release capability and lower required thresholds for the drug compared with other delivery approaches. The convenient use in the oral cavity's local environment and the ability to locally carry multiple drugs are considered the main advantages of this delivery approach. Aim: This review aimed to explore chewing gum as a promising drug carrier that can carry several types of drugs for oral health. Materials and Methods: Articles were searched for on PubMed, ISI, SCOPUS, Google Patents, the Royal Society of Chemistry website, and electronic databases using MESH terms and the following keywords: ("Gum" OR "Chewing gum") and ("Drug delivery OR Drug delivery systems") in the English language. No time limit was applied, and all documents as of August 30th, 2020 were retrieved. Results: Gum-drug interactions, mechanisms of release, and formulations of the drugs might all play a role in this versatile delivery method. Accordingly, chewing gum-based carriers may be presented as a plausible candidate for drug delivery in oral diseases. Conclusion: Gum-driven drugs could be introduced as promising candidates for treating oral diseases due to their ability to deliver the proper local dosages of active ingredients, short contact time, biocompatibility, and biodegradable chemical structures.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Among several potential transmission sources in the spreading of the COVID-19, dental services have received a high volume of attention. Several reports, papers, guidelines, and suggestions have been released on how this infection could be transmitted through dental services and what should be done. This study aimed to review the guidelines in order to develop a practical feasibility protocol for the re-opening of dental clinics and the reorientation of dental services. METHODS: This study systematically reviewed the published literature and the guidelines of international health care institutions on dentistry and COVID-19. We searched Pubmed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS electronic databases using MESH terms. The recommendations identified were tested with a convenience sample of experienced practitioners, and a practical step-by-step protocol is presented in this paper. RESULTS: To the date this paper was drafted, 38 articles were found, of which 9 satisfied our inclusion criteria. As all the nine studies were proposed in a general consensus, any elective non-emergency dental care for patients with suspected or known COVID-19 should be postponed for at least 2 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only urgent treatment of dental diseases can be performed during the COVID-19 outbreak taking into consideration pharmacological management as the first line and contagion-reduced minimally invasive emergency treatment as the secondary and final management. CONCLUSIONS: While the currently available evidence has not demonstrated a clear and direct relationship between dental treatment or surgery and the possibility of the transmission of COVID-19, there is clearly the potential for transmission. Therefore, following the protective protocols in the COVID-19 crisis is of utmost importance in a dental setting.
