In the last two decades there has been much research and development in the field of biodegradable vehicles for the local delivery of drugs for medical and dental applications. This trend is driven by an increasing awareness of the limitations of traditional systemic drug delivery, via oral routes such as patient compliance and drug effects on the whole body. To overcome these problems medicine and dentistry have made extraordinary efforts to deliver drugs to specific sites of disease whenever possible. This review article examines the history of the development of devices for local drug delivery, the pharmacokinetics of local drug delivery systems and the current state of available devices based on polymeric materials for use in medicine and dentistry. This report also analyzes the emerging data for clinical trials of oral delivery in the treatment of oral diseases. Current emphasis is on the treatment of periodontal disease and exploration of future uses.