Hey,

I have bad teeth.
I brush regularly and try to take care of my teeth, but bad teeth (soft teeth and gum disease) runs in my family.

If I smile, Im sure my teeth look fine, but I'm positive that I have many cavities lurking underneath.

anyways to the point of my story,

The other day I started to get a horrible toothache, and its gotten worse.
its the first top molar. I can't chew, close my mouth, and the pain wakes me up at night. The Gum hurts aswell.

I'm abroad and terrified of going to a dentist here, I don't want to have it pulled, I'd rather a root canal or something... yea it hurts so bad I WANT a root canal. (Im sure many can relate)

I also do not have dental insurance.

I'm also afraid that the dentist is going to see all my cavities and think I don't take care of my teeth, when I do, see all the work I most likely need done, know I dont have insurance and just pull it.

I'm so terrified of dentists that totally willing to fly back to the US (was planning to next month anyways) and see a dentist in my hometown, to relieve atleast al little anxienty, and see if the tooth can be saved.

but how do I know if it needs to be pulled or not.

I don't want to push up my trip if its just going to have to be pulled.

I really don't want to lose a tooth, I'm young but many in my family had to have teeth pulled when they were young, I just want to hold on to them as long as I can.

So..if someone can tell me what to look for to see if it needs to be pulled

I'd greatly appreciate it.