I realize you may have your answer, but here's more input.

Last I spoke with a dentist, he stated that some root canals may not be clear of all bacteria when cleaning the hole prior to a root canal. If so, an infection will occur at the filled root. Some dentists will not do a thorough job of sealing the root and bacteria may enter the root area and infect it. Bacteria may find some way to enter the dead root and populate the prime real estate. Once you have that infection, the toxins released at the root leak to your vascular system (blood vessels) and, from what I've read, can affect the destination where they hit. So if the toxins leak to your heart area, I've read that it can cause heart disease, for example. I believe this is covered more in eastern medicine in regards to meridians leading from the mouth to differing organs.

I've recently had a full mouth xray completed to find that an old root canal from my younger days is infecting the root area signified by an abscess. This is a job from many years ago when I was chewing on something really hard and broke a molar. Since it's been over 10 years, perhaps the lack of root blood flow and/or poor job caused a root infection, god knows when.

The dentist I spoke to wants to recomment a specialized surgeon to fix the infection.

I've spent all the money I could and simply cannot afford any more dentistry work until next year.

Is there anything I could do for this old dead root infection?