Natural polymers are revolutionizing current pharmaceutical dosage forms design as excipient and gained huge importance because of significant influence in formulation development and drug delivery. Oral health refers to the health of the teeth, gums, and the entire oral-facial system that allows us to smile, speak, and chew. Since years, biopolymers stand out due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, and stability. Polysaccharides such as cellulose and their derivatives possess properties like novel mechanical robustness and hydrophilicity that can be easily fabricated into controlled-release dosage forms. Cellulose attracts the dosage design attention because of constant drug release rate from the precursor nanoparticles. This review discusses the origin, extraction, preparation of cellulose derivatives and their use in formulation development of nanoparticles having multidisciplinary applications as pharmaceutical excipient and in drug delivery, as bacterial and plant cellulose have great potential for application in the biomedical area, including dentistry, protein and peptide delivery, colorectal cancer treatment, and in 3D printable dosage forms.

Burn wound healing is a complex process that involves the repair of injured tissues and the control of infection to diminish the scar formation, pain, and discomfort associated with such injuries. The aim of this research was to formulate and optimize a self-nanoemulsion drug delivery system based on the use of coconut oil and loaded with simvastatin. Coconut oil possesses antiinflammatory and antibacterial activity, and simvastatin has interesting properties for promoting the wound-healing process because it increases the production of the vascular endothelial growth factor at the site of injury. The Box–Behnken design was employed for the optimization of the coconut oil–simvastatin self-nanoemulsion drug delivery system. The prepared formulations were characterized according to globular size and their activity in the healing of burn wounds by assessing the mean wound diameter and level of interlukin-6 in experimental animals. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity of the prepared formulations was assessed. The nanoemulsion was considered adequately formed when it had droplets of between 65 and 195 nm. The statistical design proved the important synergistic effect of coconut oil and simvastatin for burn wound management in their synergistic potentiation of wound closure and their anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. The optimum formulation achieved up to a 5.3-fold decrease in the mean burn wound diameter, a 4.25-fold decrease in interleukin-6 levels, and a 6-fold increase in the inhibition zone against Staphylococcus aureus when compared with different control formulations. Therefore, the designed nanoemulsions containing a combination of coconut oil and simvastatin could be considered promising platforms for the treatment of chronic and burn wounds.

Background: Oral and maxillofacial lesions (OMFL) comprise a broad spectrum of benign and malignant lesions that affect the oral cavity. However, few epidemiological studies have evaluated oral cavity lesions, and very few have focused on oral soft tissue pathology. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence and distribution of OMFL that had been diagnosed histologically at the Oral Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University. Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted to assess the distribution of OMFL among the oral cavity biopsies submitted to the Oral Pathology Laboratory during the period from 1996 to 2016. Information on sex, age, location of the lesion, and histopathologic diagnosis was analyzed. Results: A total of 1,218 cases were examined. Among these, reactive/adaptive lesions were the most common type (n=245; 20.1%) and cystic lesions were the second most common (n=214; 17.6%), followed by inflammatory lesions (n=152; 12.5%) and epithelial pathology (n=115; 9.4%). Conclusion: The results of the present study provide valuable information on the prevalence of OMFL in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Reactive conditions were the most frequently diagnosed pathologies. Most oral and maxillofacial biopsies were soft tissue lesions, benign in nature, and inflammatory in origin. Further studies are necessary to provide more information on head and neck diseases in the general population to develop better future oral health policies.

Drug administration to the wound site is a potential method for wound healing. The drug retention duration should be extended, and drug permeability through the buccal mucosal layer should be regulated. Oral wounds can be caused by inflammation, ulcers, trauma, or pathological lesions; if these wounds are not treated properly, they can lead to pain, infection, and subsequent undesirable scarring. This study aimed to develop Kolliphor-407 P-based gel containing neomycin sulfate (NES) loaded in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and enhance the antimicrobial activity. By considering lipid concentrations and achieving the lowest particle size (Y1) and maximum entrapment (EE-Y2) effectiveness, the formulation of NES-SLN was optimized using the Box–Behnken design. For the selected responses, 17 runs were formulated (as anticipated by the Design-Expert software) and evaluated accordingly. The optimized formulation could achieve a particle size of 196.25 and EE of 89.27% and was further utilized to prepare the gel formulation. The NES-SLN-G formula was discovered to have a smooth, homogeneous structure and good mechanical and rheological properties. After 24 h of treatment, NES-SLN-G showed a regulated in vitro drug release pattern, excellent ex vivo permeability, and increased in vitro antibacterial activity. These findings indicate the potential application of NES-SLN-loaded gels as a promising formulation for buccal mucosal wound healing.

The graphene family of nanomaterials acquired significant attention in the field of dentistry due to a range of interesting properties. Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are the major graphene derivatives that are widely used in dental applications. These derivatives exhibit excellent mechanical properties, superior biocompatibility, good antibacterial properties, extreme chemical stability, and favorable tribological characteristics, thus representing highly materials for dentistry. The amphiphilic nature of GO allows covalent and noncovalent modifications that are favorable for biomedical applications. Graphene can influence the differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and enhance the properties of other biomaterials. Here, we review the dental applications of GO or rGO with regards to antimicrobial activity, therapeutic drug delivery, restorative dentistry, implants, pulp regeneration, bone regeneration, periodontal tissue regeneration, biosensors, and tooth whitening.