[fja711]

Good indications that a tooth needs a root canal are if heat makes the tooth throb or ache, if it wakes you up a night, or if chewing on it causes a toothache. If the tooth is senstive to cold and only hurts when you bite just right but does not cause a lingering tooth ache (sharpe pain that hurts only for the instant), you probably don't need a root canal but probably need a crown. In that case, the diagnosis would be a cracked tooth rather than a dead tooth.