Buccal

Buccal administration delivers a substance through the lining of the cheek, where it is absorbed into the blood vessels of the oral mucosa.

The inside of the cheek is thin, well supplied with blood, and drains into veins that bypass the liver on the first pass, so compounds absorbed there avoid some of the metabolism that a swallowed dose undergoes. Buccal products include films, sprays, lozenges, and tablets designed to be held against the cheek until they dissolve. Anything swallowed during that time follows the ordinary oral route instead.

Some pharmaceutical cannabinoid preparations are formulated as oromucosal sprays applied to the cheek or under the tongue. In the retail market, sprays and dissolving strips are sometimes described as buccal. Readers often confuse buccal with sublingual; the two are close cousins, differing mainly in where the product sits. How much of a cannabinoid is actually absorbed through the cheek versus swallowed depends on the formulation and on how long it stays in place, and research on consumer products is limited.