I’m 99% sure I have a cavity on my bottom left molar. It hurts every time I bite down and I can see a very small discolored spot on it. My dentist’s office is closed with the exception of emergencies. I wanna preface my questions by saying:

1. I have this irrational fear of something happening to my teeth. I’m terrified that I won’t have any teeth by 30 which I know is ridiculous, but my anxiety is through the roof knowing I have a cavity and may not be able to get an appointment.

2. I grind my teeth quite badly during both night and day. I’m worried since the discolored spot is on the top of my molar that grinding my teeth will make my tooth more sensitive and worsen my symptoms.

Okay, so my questions are: what constitutes an emergency? Like, how bad does the pain or symptoms have to be before I can make an appt? Also, just in case I can’t make an appointment until this is over, how long can you have a cavity before it erodes most of the tooth?