I have had an almalgum filling on my tooth yesterday by an NHS dentist. I thought that I probably needed a root canal but the dentist suggested this wasnt necessary. She said all I required was a deep filling. Looking at my xrays the cavity appeared to me to be nearly touching the root. Reading symptoms this evening of root abscesses I have convinced myself that I have one. The Xray did not show the base of my tooth. I took the dentist's opinion as I obviously know little about dentistry. The work was painful but not unbearable. Unfortunately I am up at 2 in the morning now in some pain terrified that the work I had done was insufficient.

What I would like to know is: presuming I have an abscess that was not spotted, is there any way it can heal itself now that I have a filling?
What are the implications of having an abscess etc.

Please dont exclusively respond with "you probably dont have an abscess, this pain is normal yada yada" because I would like to know the implications of having an abscess presuming I have one. Thanks for your time.

Alex