Hi, In early July I had a painful left cheekbone. I thought I had a sinus infection, but after a few days I realized that my cheekbone pain occurred after eating or drinking something warm. I went to my dentist and was diagnosed with a tooth abscess in tooth 14. He did a vitality test and I never felt a thing. I had a root canal and didn't think any more about it until recently. About a month after my root canal I started having pretty severe pain in my left little finger joint. I didn't injure that finger. Shortly after this point I had strep throat. 2 weeks later I noticed that my shoulders were both very stiff. After another 2 weeks almost all of my joints are painful. I started searching online trying to figure out what is going on with me. Everything keeps pointing toward rheumatoid arthritis. After repeated searches I stumbled upon the connection between root canals and serious illnesses like RA. I made an appt with my doctor and he tested me for RA, lupus and gout. Luckily everything came back negative, but I am still in a lot of pain. I was diagnosed with synovitis. In searching synovitis, it sounds like a precursor to a RA diagnosis to me. I have had the joint pain for 6 weeks now. I want this tooth pulled in order to see if my symptoms disappear afterward. My dentist doesn't want to pull it, so I made an appt in mid October at a biological dentist an hour away. Am I on the right track? What is a safe way to replace this tooth? I don't like bridges since you have to destroy 2 teeth. I've heard implants aren't healthy. Do I just go with an empty spot? Thanks for any guidance!