Long story....

First things first. Self-confessed worry-wart with a serious fear of all things dental. I had a root canal done on tooth 12 about two years ago. I went to my regular dentist who evaluated the temporary filling and said it looked ok to last a few months until my insurance benefits rolled over for the new year. In between then and now I managed to dislocate my knee and have my gallbladder removed. Needless to say, the tooth still remains unfinished.

Yesterday, the tooth broke. There is virtually nothing left at the gum line at the back. I'm worried as I absolutely cannot afford dental work at this point but I keep reading these horror stories about bone infections. I can get the tooth pulled at tax time, but I'm completely terrified that I'm putting my health at significant risk. Can anyone tell me realistically what the risks of developing a jawbone infection are and, if it did happen, would pulling the tooth and antibiotics likely take care of it?

Thank you for any information.