Involuntary rhythmic, repetitive movements mainly involving the face, mouth, jaw, and tongue are known as?

• A. Facial Tics
• B. Dystonic Movements
• C. Athetoid Movements
• D. Oral-Facial Dyskinesias

Answer: (D)

Oral-facial dyskinesias describe involuntary, repetitive movements focused on the face, mouth, jaw, and tongue. This pattern includes actions like lip smacking, grimacing, tongue thrusting, and jaw movements, and is a classic example of a focal dyskinesia often seen with tardive dyskinesia from long-term use of dopamine-blocking drugs. Distinguishing features are that these movements are not just brief or isolated like tics, which tend to be sudden and suppressible, nor are they sustained postures seen in dystonia, nor the slow, writhing quality of athetosis. So the described movements best fit oral-facial dyskinesias.