If there is plaque (bacteria) around a tooth or an implant, the gums will react with inflammation and light bleeding (gingivitis).
If left untreated, it develops into bone loss, ie. periodontitis (around the tooth) or periimplantitis (around the implant). An important, and serious, difference between periodontitis and periimplantitis is that periimplantitis develops faster than ordinary periodontitis, which is why it is important to start treatment quickly.
Periimplantitis is treated with good oral hygiene, dental visits, cleansing and possibly surgery including bone building. The treatment is difficult and the success rate is lower compared with periodontitis. If you have an implant, it is therefore important that you are just as thorough and careful with the oral hygiene around the implant as around your regular teeth.