I had a correspondence back and forth with Cortney from Maryland.
She first wrote to me bothered because her dentist had said she had a little cavity, which he filled. The tooth then became sensitive and the dentist wanted to do a root canal. See the original post: “It was a small cavity – now he says I need a root canal!”

I questioned the dentist’s recommendation, advised her to get a second opinion, and gave her some guidelines on how to tell if the tooth is infected.

She responded with the following:

Thank you Dr. Hall. I did take your advice to seek a second opinion and she took 2 digital xrays and saw no sign of infection. She did visually inspect a hairline fracture on the back of tooth #2 and her plan is to crown the tooth to hold it together. She didnt seem to think it needed a root canal either at this point since the sensitivity is to cold and air stimulus and lasts less than 10 sec. I really appreciate all your advice and credit you with helping solve my tooth dilemma. Now my mind is at ease and I can focus on the rest of my pregnancy. Thank you Dr Hall!
 – Cortney from Maryland