Dead tooth root: What are my options?

A few days ago, my boyfriend started feeling some tooth pain. He thought it might just be his gums, but apparently, one of the roots is dead. His dentist opened the tooth up and claimed she could see that one root was fine while the other was dead, though she didn't actually take an X-ray. Once she closed it back up, the pain seemed to get a bit worse. She prescribed some antibiotics and told him to come back in a couple of days, saying it should start feeling better soon. I guess I'm wondering what we should do—is it worth seeking a second opinion? It feels a little strange to me. Shouldn't she have taken an X-ray before opening the tooth in the first place?
Thanks

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An X-ray alone isn't enough to tell if a nerve has actually died—it just doesn't work that way! You can really only diagnose nerve death through an X-ray if there's visible granuloma (inflammation around the root tip) present.

If you want to check vitality—meaning, is the nerve actually dead or not?—there are entirely different tests for that, and no, a standard X-ray isn't one of them.

But look, before anyone even touches a tooth for endodontic treatment, you absolutely have to take an X-ray first.

Got a thread on root canals... thanks