What can I expect if there’s something wrong with my root canal?!

[Lelia]

I am an anxious person by nature... I’ve had bad experiences with dentists as a child with all my pediatric dentists... I’m an adult now and still as soon as I sit in that chair I feel my eyes well up with tears from the mere overwhelming anxiety.
maybe 11 years ago I got a root canal and after changing dentists some years later the crown became very loose as soon as my new dentist went to check it the crown popped right off and I smelled what I know is infection. He assured me that it is not normal for it to become loose like that. That made me feel better and after he fixed it I thought I’d be in the clear.
well... now another four years or so have passed and I feel a slight wiggle there and when I floss gently I can smell the malodor of an infection. The worst part is the discomfort if I eat something hard, like even chips!
the horrible thing about this anxiety is that it has kept me from seeing a dentist and I’m sure if I went more frequently I’d be ok!
i changed insurance companies recently and have avoided a dentist for 2 years now... I finally called my dentist, but of course with COVID they aren’t open even. I’m waiting for them to call me back... but is this an emergency? I just want to know, even if it’s to prepare me for bad news, what I can expect. My dentist is not particularly sensitive.

 

[Gordon]

If the crown is a bit loose, food etc will get into any spaces left around it and set up the bad smell, it doesn't mean that there is an "infection" there.
Discomfort when chewing is a more worrying symptom but it doesn't mean that there is definitely something wrong, it can be quite innocent, possibly the crown is not quite fully seated for instance.