Purpose: To investigate whether MMP-13 g.-77 A > G (rs2252070) gene polymorphism is associated with early implant loss. Materials and Methods: Two hundred nonsmoking volunteers in good oral health, > 18 years of age, and found to be periodontally healthy by clinical examination were matched by age, sex, and implant position and separated into two groups: control group (100 patients with one or more healthy implants for a minimum of 1 year) and test group (100 patients who had suffered early implant loss, considered when implants presented mobility and/or pain before or during abutment connection, requiring their removal). Genomic DNA from saliva was genotyped by PCR-RFLP. Statistical analysis of the results was done using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: A significant difference in the presence of the different alleles and genotype was found between groups for the MMP-13 g.-77 A > G (rs2252070) gene polymorphism (P = .0161, OR 95% = 0.57 [0.37 to 0.89]; P = .007, OR 95% = 0.44 [0.25 to 0.78]). The A allele increased susceptibility to early implant loss and appeared to be a genetic risk factor. Conclusion: The findings suggest that MMP-13 g.‐77 A > G (rs2252070) polymorphism may contribute to early implant loss. Keywords: implant loss, metalloproteinase, polymorphism, risk factor