I've had a cavity for a really long time but no money or insurance to get it fixed. Now I will have dental insurance in 1 month, but of course now I think I may have an emergency and don't know if I can wait until my insurance kicks in to see a dentist.
Above the tooth, I have a swollen little ball-like pocket in my gums. It is painful to the touch. I don't know if I can treat it at home for a month, otherwise I'll go into debt paying for it now.
Don't wait to be seen at least to get on antibiotics. You need to immediately get antibiotics from a doctor or dentist to prevent the infection from causing you serious medical problems. I would contact a dentist or your last doctor and explain you will have insurance in a month but need antibiotics now for the cavity. Or search for "free care" in your state. You just need to see a nurse practitioner, doctor or dentist to get a quick exam and an antibiotic. If you live in Massachusetts or live close enough to drive there I could tell you where to go. But usually local churches or hospitals in your area probably have a free clinic or low cost clinic. Many CVS pharmacies now have quick clinics and you can probably be seen at one of those. You can probably wait to have the tooth treated BUT need antibiotics now.
If you start feeling a fever or notice any other new problems (neck pain/stiffness, unable to speak or horse throat, or any other new medical problems that you notice suddenly) then immediately get to a local hospital ER. It is rare but possible to die from a tooth infection (cavity). A famous case a few years ago was a 15 year old boy who DIED in NY city from a cavity because he was homeless and thus didn't seek medical/dental care.
As your lesion is painful it might be infected.Best possible preventive approach is to keep you mouth and particularly the area involved clean that is maintain optimum hyegiene.Also it might be a cyst or granuloma but a better diagnosis can be made clinically and histopathologically so I would recommend you to see the dentist asap.
You can at least get prescription for antibiotics. Here is the site that you can search for free/low payment dental clinics (enter zip code on right side) :
http://www.freedentalcare.us/city.php?
If your area has free dental clinic, it will appear on the list.