The therapeutic effect of cannabidiol in oral mucosa lesions: a scoping review of in vivo and clinical studies

Aim: This study aims to analyze the potential therapeutic effect of cannabidiol use on oral mucosa lesions in clinical and in vivo studies. Methods: A scoping review was conducted considering the question: "Is there a therapeutic effect of the use of cannabidiol (CBD) on lesions of the oral mucosa?". Four distinct databases were searched (PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus) and gray literature until August 2023. Original clinical and in vivo studies were included, involving human and animal subjects where CBD was applied topically to the oral mucosa or administered systemically for the treatment of lesions or superficial/deep alterations of the oral mucosa. Results: A total of 610 records were found in the initial searches. Twelve studies were assessed in full text for eligibility and five studies were excluded. Seven studies were included in this review. Five studies were conducted with in vivo design and only two studies had clinical design in humans. Considering results from in vivo studies, all of them presented better clinical results for oral mucosa lesion groups treated with CBD-based therapy compared to placebo. Regarding histological features, four studies found statistically significant improvement in CBD-based therapy and only one study did not find a significant improvement. For clinical studies, all studies presented positive clinical results (primarily regarding pain control) in the use of CBD-based therapies. Conclusion: CBD appears effective in treating oral mucosa lesions (oral mucositis, ulcers, burning mouth syndrome). CBD-based therapies can reduce inflammation in vivo studies and hold promise for pain control and lesion healing in oral mucosa lesions in clinical studies. However, the limited number of clinical trials, heterogeneity in cannabis-based therapies, and a lack of standardized protocols underscore the need for further rigorous, interdisciplinary research to establish consistent dosing and assess the efficacy of various cannabinoids in treating oral mucosa conditions