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There are 2 stages of gum disease.
The earlier stage of gum disease is gingivitis. Symptoms of gingivitis include tender and bleeding gums during tooth brushing.
If gingivitis is left untreated, it will then progress to periodontitis.
Symptoms of periodontitis include bleeding, swelling and receding gums and bad breath. Periodontitis can eventually cause deep periodontal pockets and bone loss around the roots of teeth. Small spaces can open up between the gum and teeth, which can then become loose and fall out eventually due to loss of support. Deep periodontal pockets form due to bacterial invasion into the gum and towards root of the tooth. For patients who have gum disease, scaling alone is not sufficient. Thus, gum treatment (root planning) will be necessary to control the gum disease.