About 2 or 3 weeks ago I developed a little bump on my inside lower right gum. Last Wednesday, on my 3-month cleaning, after examining it and taking ex-rays, my hygeinist confirmed it was an abscess and that the pocket nearest to it went from a 3 to a 7 mm, and was bleeding on probing. (There was no visible bleeding when I brushed).

My periodontist looked at it and told me I needed a root canal. I've made arrangements for a dentist to examine it and I suppose I'll have it done, as I don't know what else to do about it. It doesn't really hurt, but it makes me uncomfortable to feel it, and I understand it has germs that will accelerate my bone loss, besides being toxic to my body.

What I don't understand is how having a root canal will help this. They remove the root which is the source of tooth pain---which, as I've said, I barely have, if any---but will it get rid of the abscess? Will it prevent another abcess? The absence of a nerve doesn't eliminate the conditions that led to the abscess in the first place, does it? Also, I've heard so many horror stories about how bad root canals turned out.

I take excellent care of my teeth now, and all my others were so clean and my gums so healthy that my hygeniest put me on a 4-month cleaning schedual.

I know---if anybody answers this---you'll say, "Go get a second opinion!". But that takes a lot of time and often they ask for big consultation fees. I don't have the money for it, nor can I take so much time off work. Besides, my experience is that they're not all that different.

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.