UK Dentists - question around root canal and tooth pain during Covid

Hi,

Just before Covid19 kicked off I was in excruciating pain that built to a crescendo over a few days. I got an emergency appointment with the dentist where they told me a filling had failed, they 'drilled' the tooth and dressed it (their terms, I'm not sure what they mean) to get me out of pain. I was given a course of antibiotics, the hole was packed with antibiotic stuff, a temporary filling and I was told to return in two weeks for a root canal. Then Covid19 happened, the appointment was cancelled and I was left with a great big hole in my tooth.

I floss every day, brush twice a day with an electric toothbrush, don't rinse after brushing, mouthwash. I even have a water flosser, so I've kept the area clean. I'm wondering, basically, is this a ticking timebomb, given the severity of the pain previously?

On a slightly related note, a tooth on the lower left side, second from the back, that already has a filling in, has a black mark on it and is now sensitive to hot and cold with a slight dull ache...which is pretty much how the above pain started. I wear a dentist made mouth guard for night time grinding, so potentially grinding has made it worse, though I though the guard was supposed to stop that? I'm guessing I have to wait until this is agony before they'll see me?

Thanks for any advice.

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from https://www.reddit.com/r/Dentistry/comments/gix7j2/uk_dentists_question_around_root_canal_and_tooth/