Dental implants report high survival rate for the treatment of patients with missing teeth and being one of the undeniable restoration techniques. However, peri-implant bone loss has recently arisen to be the highlight in contemporary implant therapy. Therefore, the possible causes that are detrimental to dental implants and surrounding tissues are important to be discovered. The present review focuses on the current etiologies of peri-implant bone loss and subsequent complications observed in clinical practices. A comprehensive literature search was conducted via PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases using the related keywords. The literature reveals numerous etiological factors may initiate the loss of marginal bone in dental implant application: loading protocols, implant body placement, implant macro-design features, implant surface roughness, implantation site preparation, foreign body reaction, implant material particles detachment and contamination, and oral habit. Albeit the biomechanical, biological, or combination of factors are known to contribute in marginal bone resorption, the predictability of treatment modalities to handle the defect remains controversial and unclear. Further clinical trials and sophisticated quantitative assessment would be advantageous to help scrutinize the issue.
