Advice on my tooth?! all dentists please read!?

Ok about a year ago, i broke my far back top molar eating chips and salsa at work. it didnt hurt, it just felt super wierd. i already had an appt to get a cleaning, so while i was there i asked about it. they looked at it and couldnt tell if was just my filling that came out, or if some of the tooth actually broke. well i decided to wait until i got onto the militarys insurance when i got married a couple months later and then fix it. well then come to find out, tricare doesnt cover dental. you have to get united concordia and pay 25 bucks a month. i didnt see that as worth it considering i only have this one problem that needs fixing. not something every month. so anyways i just left it alone since it wasnt giving me any problems. well a couple months ago, i woke up to this extreme pain in that area. i sincerely thought it was my wisdom tooth. so to get thru the night i took some pain killers and ended up taking them for a few days. after 3 days the pain was gone. nothing was hurting anymore and i was back to normal, so stupidly i forgot about it again and let it be. well now a couple weeks ago, some more of my tooth broke off. again, absolutely no pain. other than the jagged feeling it wasnt bothering me. so i just made note that i was going to keep an eye on it and try to be more careful with it. a friend mentioned that i could call the central appt line for our clinic on post and tell them i am in pain and it will be treated as an emergency, and since medical is free, that would be my most desired option if it will work out like that. go figure a few minutes ago, while eating pizza, even more of the tooth broke off. but again, no pain. i dont feel it at all. i can still chew and bite and clamp my teeth together. i wear retainers at night ever since i had braces, and even those dont bother me. so my question basically to you all is, in your opinion, when i do go get it taken care of, what will most likely happen? in my opinion, im thinking that those few days where i was in excruciating pain, i think that was the nerve of my tooth dying. so now i think when i do go in, ill end up with a root canal, and it more than likely wont hurt since the nerve is already dead. im guessing after that procedure theyll just cap the tooth and thatll be that. do you think this assumption is right? or do you think something else is going on? please give an answer tellling me what you think happened, what the dentist will probably do, and about how much it will hurt. im a huge baby when it comes to dental work so.....lol thanks ahead of time for any help!Advice on my tooth?! all dentists please read!?
Well your might be exactly right the nerve is already "deader than a door nail" and there is no pain. However if you dont fix this soon it will abscess on you and you will again be in pain and possibily swell up (no fun)! And as far as treatment a RCT and Crown is a great possibility if the tooth is able to be saved! Other possibility is if the tooth has broken off too much like under the gumline or if the decay in tooth is too deep then the only option would be to extract! Then you have to decide on a bridge or a implant! Best advice is to get into a dentist ASAP to avoid loosing this tooth!Advice on my tooth?! all dentists please read!?
Yeah, they'll probably do just as you assumed. You will most likely have a root canal, then a cap or crown.Advice on my tooth?! all dentists please read!?
Your assumption is absolutely correct.
i dont know but I can assure you this will cost you a good coin.