Case Report Gingival Vitiligo: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature Nipun Ashok, 1 Anila Karunakaran, 2 Prabath Singh, 3 Jean Rodrigues, 4 Navya Ashok, 5 Bassel Tarakji, 6 Azzeghaiby Saleh, 7 and Alzoghaibi Ibrahim 7 1 Department of Periodontics, Al Farabi College of Dentistry, Riyadh 11691, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Oral Pathology, Kannur Dental College, Kannur 670612, India 3 Department of Endodontics, Amrita Institute of Dental Sciences, Cochin 682041, India 4 Department of Endodontics, Al Farabi College of Dentistry, Riyadh 11691, Saudi Arabia 5 Department of Orthodontics, Amrita Institute of Dental Sciences, Cochin 682041, India 6 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Al Farabi College of Dentistry, Riyadh 11691, Saudi Arabia 7 Al Farabi College of Dentistry, Riyadh 11691, Saudi Arabia Correspondence should be addressed to Nipun Ashok; nipunashok@gmail.com Received 25 January 2014; Accepted 21 May 2014; Published 11 June 2014 Academic Editor: Noam Yarom Copyright © 2014 Nipun Ashok et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Rarely cases have been reported regarding depigmented lesions of the oral cavity. On reviewing the literature, only few cases of gingival vitiligo or similar lesions have been reported till date. Tese lesions pose a cosmetic challenge. We present here a case of vitiligo afecting gingiva. Vitiligo has been defned as an acquired, slowly progressive loss of cutaneous pigment which occurs as irregular, sharply defned patches which may or may not be surrounded by macroscopic hyperpigmentation. Diferential diagnosis, detailed clinical history, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and pathogenesis of this condition are discussed. 1. Introduction Colour changes in skin and mucosa are of diagnostic impor- tance and may present only as a mere cosmetic disfgurement or may indicate an underlying systemic disease. Gingival pigmentation is a rarity in Caucasian population but is com- monly observed in Africans, East Asians, and Hispanics [1]. Afer reviewing the literature, it was observed that only very few cases of depigmented lesions have been reported in the oral mucosa. Tis depigmentation on skin or mucosa is termed as “vitiligo” or “leukopathia” or “piebaldism” or “leukoderma” [2]. Vitiligo has been defned as an acquired, slowly progressive loss of cutaneous pigment which occurs as irregular, sharply defned patches which may or may not be surrounded by macroscopic hyperpigmentation [3]. Gingival pigmentation plays an important role in the overall gingival colour and aesthetics. Vitiligo of gingiva could result in cosmetic debility. Tis case of gingival vitiligo is reported on account of its rarity and the cosmetic chal- lenges it poses. 2. Prevalence Vitiligo afects approximately 0.1–4% of the general popula- tion and has no racial or regional predilection. A positive family history has been observed in vitiligo cases suggestive of a genetic involvement. Females are more commonly afected [4]. 3. Case Report A 20-year-old female patient reported to the Department of Periodontics, Kannur Dental College, Kerala, with a chief complaint of a white patch on her gums which was present for the past 2 years. Te lesion was asymptomatic and increased in size gradually during the course of the frst year and has remained stable since then. Te patient was otherwise healthy and was not under any medication. Tere was no history of alcohol consumption, smoking, and areca nut chewing habits. Neither was there a familial history of similar disease Hindawi Publishing Corporation Case Reports in Dentistry Volume 2014, Article ID 874025, 3 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/874025