i would definitely get the root canal! i had to have 2 this past year, and it was worth the cost to keep my teeth. it didnt hurt at all, and now i'm sporting one porcelin and one gold crown. totally no big deal. the only thing i felt was the needle that the endodontist used to numb me. there was no pain afterwords. i was kinda shocked, since i'd heard all the horror stories about root canals!