What is a disadvantage of buccal/sublingual tablets?

• A. Inconvenience/Taste
• B. High cost
• C. Requires injections
• D. Long shelf-life restrictions

Answer: (A)

The main point is that taste and mouthfeel can limit where buccal or sublingual tablets are used. These tablets dissolve in the mouth to release drug directly across the mucosa, giving rapid absorption and avoiding first-pass metabolism. But because the drug is exposed to the oral cavity, many formulations have a noticeable or unpleasant taste, and some drugs can irritate or dry the mouth as they dissolve. This makes administration feel inconvenient and can affect patient adherence, especially for children, elderly, or when fast, quiet dosing is needed. If the taste is strong or the tablet must stay in place for a while to dissolve, the routine becomes uncomfortable, which is a clear drawback of this route.

High cost isn’t inherently linked to buccal/sublingual tablets, and this route doesn’t require injections, so those aren’t general disadvantages. Long shelf-life restrictions aren’t a defining limitation of this approach, either.