Hello!
For three years I have had problems with painful joints. Despite examinations, no specialist has found the cause. For 35 years I had a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate and no cause was found. Since a diseased tooth was removed, my sedimentation rate has been normal. Could a damaged or non-vital tooth be the cause of painful joints (worst when sitting or standing)?
Thank you and kind regards,
Janja

Dear Sir/Madam!

Our profession does not have a way of proving links between foci in the mouth and focal diseases elsewhere in the body. Theoretically, every non-vital tooth can be a focus. Based on the information you have provided, one could certainly infer a certain connection between foci in the mouth and the problems that fortunately disappeared after those teeth were removed. In practice, we therefore decide to remove non-vital teeth according to the severity of the risk of diseases that such foci could represent, for example: before heart-valve replacement surgery, all non-vital teeth must be extracted.

Have a nice day!