I was searching on the internet on this topic and stumbled upon this
group.

I have an identical problem as the starter of this thread:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/sci.med.dentistry/browse_thread/thread/ea874e82
43a08eb/1f33d1f28e47a69d?hl=en&q=Implant+with+infection+healed

A brief background:

I got a titanium implant for a one of my front teeth in 2004. I had to
have about 3 bone augmentation procedures with bio material and a 12
months wait before the implant could actually be fitted because I had
lost the tooth a long time ago and there was a lot of bone loss in the
area.

Everything went OK after the implant went in but after about two years
the implant developed an infection.  The gum above the implant tooth
became sore and slightly swollen but the tooth (crown on implant) was
still very firm. When I press the gum above the implant crown a yellow
puss like liquid would come out of between the gum and crown. This
secretion had a bad odour.  I went to my dentist and was put on a
course of antibiotics for one week but that didn’t clear the infection
and in the end my dentist had to open up the area, clean it out
completely with some acidic liquid and put in more bio bone material
to replace the bone eroded away by the infection  (open flap
procedure?).

That was in 2006.  After that rebuild everything has been OK since
then but now the exact same symptoms have resurfaced i.e. sore gum
above implant and a yellow puss like liquid comes out of the gum when
pressed.  The tooth is still firm.  I've been using Corsodyl
(chlorhexidine), Listerine and Hydrogen Peroxide for the past few days
to no avail.  I have arranged an appointment to see my dentist this
week.

Reading the other thread I noticed that the procedure carried out by
my dentist the last time this happened is similar to the description
on how an ailing/failing dental implant is treated.

My questions are...

Is surgery the only way to treat this type of infection?

As long as you have an implant will you always be susceptible to this
type of infection that erodes bone tissue?

I believe I have good dental hygiene habits/methods as I floss and
brush with an electric toothbrush everyday and apart from using
conventional mouthwashes daily I also use hydrogen peroxide 3% to
rinse my mouth at least once a week.

Are there ways of preventing this infection apart from the usual good
dental hygiene habits?

Can this type of infection be treated with Dentomycin periodontal
gel?

Any comments/suggestions/advice will be much appreciated.