Antisialagogues are medicines that dry the mouth by cutting saliva production, blocking the parasympathetic signals that stimulate the salivary glands. Anticholinergic medicines such as atropine and scopolamine have this effect, which surgeons once exploited deliberately to keep airways clear during anesthesia, and which today is mostly an unwanted side effect. For patients, drug-induced dry mouth is more than discomfort: saliva protects teeth, begins starch digestion, and makes swallowing possible, so chronic reduction raises cavity risk and impairs eating, especially in the elderly taking multiple medications. Management includes saliva substitutes, sugar-free gum to stimulate residual flow, and medication review. The word’s rarity in modern texts reflects how seldom drying the mouth is anyone’s therapeutic goal.