I'm scared.. dentist said I need a root canal.... help!?!

I'm scared.. dentist said I need a root canal.... help!?

I'm only seventeen years old. At first I thought I had a tooth ache until the pain got to the point where it felt like my head was being ripped apart. Pain shot through the side of my head to my jaw, and to the tooth. I finally got an x-ray today and the dentist told me that my tooth was dying, and that I need a root canal.

The dentist gave me penecillin to relieve the pain but I'm still scared of getting the root canal.

I've done research and it said if left untreated, I can get a jaw infection. I feel the pain surging through my jaw, does that mean it's already infected?

Is it normal for a girl my age to get a root canal?
I'm scared... I don't know what to do. Should I have a root canal? Or just pull out the tooth out?

Please help... I'm so scared....

I don't believe that penicillin treats pain, it's not a painkiller, its an antibiotic. Don't be scared, I was younger than you when I had mine, I was 13, fortunately my mom did it, I believe I was asleep, or well numbed. Do not be afraid, try to relax, with all of the technological advances in the dental field you have very little reason to worry.