ABSTRACT Oral diseases impair oral function and are closely linked to various systemic conditions. Current clinical diagnosis and treatment modalities remain constrained by inherent limitations, necessitating innovative therapeutic strategies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as promising tools due to their natural biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and intrinsic drug delivery capabilities. Concurrently, advances in biomaterials have provided versatile platforms for stable EVs delivery and spatiotemporally controlled release. This review systematically summarizes the biological characteristics and functions of EVs, comparing the influence of cellular sources and isolation methods on their properties. We further discuss strategies for EVs functionalization and examine the design principles of biomaterial‐based delivery systems incorporating engineered EVs. Additionally, we highlight recent progress in functionalized EV‐loaded biomaterials for integrated diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease, dental caries, oral mucosal diseases, and oral cancer. The advantages of this integrated theragnostic approach and current translational challenges are critically analyzed. Finally, future directions involving personalized medicine and intelligent biomaterials are proposed to advance precision oral healthcare.
Zhao et al. (Sun,) studied this question.