The role of occlusal load in the development of periodontitis and peri-implantitis has been a topic of discussions for several years. Since human trials are impossible due to existing ethical protocols, most of the existing research is based on animal testing and finite element analysis method, with both having their specific shortcomings. Existing clinical studies examined the influence of implant design, suprastructures and modification of both to transfer occlusal forces into the surrounding bone. These studies provide contrary conclusions on the role of traumatic forces, similar to studies performed on subjects with bruxism which mostly mention the negative influence of those forces in relation to patients without bruxism. Research on the level of cells involved in bone remodeling suggests that traumatic forces may have an adverse effect on the activity of those cells. When we consider only the transfer of forces to the implants, it remains unclear how people perceive force expression onto implants, despite the reduced active and passive threshold in studying tactile function. The reduced tactile function should, in theory, cause the patients to develop traumatic forces and have difficulty balancing chewing motions. However, implant-prosthetic rehabilitated patients are able to chew normally and balance the bolus. Several theories are attempting to explain the mechanisms behind this; most popular being the theory of osseoperception and the theory of mechanotransduction. Taking into account the findings of all these studies, occlusal overload can’t be considered a direct cause of bone loss around implants, but it can’t be ruled out as a possible co-factor.