Ouch, Sara. I hope it's NBT.

If it is just tender to pressure -- it is the work . take drugs ( up to 4 advil -type) and ice your jaw-- should improve

fLot's more detail on the PZ cracker kerfufle: [link]

Has quotes from PZ, from the death threat, from the death threat guy's "apology", etc.... (The guy made the threat using his wife's computer, with a 1800flowers.com email account.)

I got novacaine in what felt like the joint at the back of my mouth (the tooth they needed to work on was backmost bottom) and again along the lower jaw. Twice, because I have weird nerve paths and halfway through drilling, I felt it in a bad way. That part isn't a surprise. I can't recall if it was when I had my wisdom teeth out or when I had 7 baby teeth pulled from the front, but they had a hell of a time knocking everything out. And the last time they did work on the bottom half, but I hadn't recalled the childhood stuff at that point.

My dentist wasn't surprised by the need for extra- she's got the same issues. It took 5 hours for the numbness to finally wear off.

I should just give her a call if it doesn't resolve. I'm just stung again by my irrational "maybe it'll go away and I'm just imagining it." Need to recall the orders to be a drama queen.

ETA: Not in Big Pain. In Pain Paranoia. It doesn't hurt, it's just noticeably not quite usual when I bite a certain way. And I can bite NOT a certain way, but ... It's like it is too loose or something and is pushed too far.

mouth discomfort sucks.

My friend D had a tumor removed on his neck. He's been in the hospital for a week, now has a trache and a gastric tube since he doesn't have a normal swallowing pattern.

I told him he's a matched set with Grace.

Aww, that's rough for D!

Andy Dick, looking good... [link]

Is this from work done today, Sara? If not, I'd get it looked at.

I got novacaine in what felt like the joint at the back of my mouth (the tooth they needed to work on was backmost bottom) and again along the lower jaw.

Okay, this sounds like what's happened to me before. There's a special bundle of nerves near the hinge of your jaw. Dentists like to inject there because it's very effective at numbing most of your mouth. But sometimes, if you hit that area in a certain way, you get soreness and stiffness.

The first time it happened to me, it was so painful that I didn't want to open my mouth too much. (I was also having other issues related to the root canal from hell.) This caused my jaw to get stuck in an almost closed position. (The eventual solution for this problem was my oral surgeon grabbing my upper and lower jaws and forcing them apart. That was beyond hell.)

When it happened to me the second time, I made a point of monitoring my ability to open and close my mouth (you should be able to fit three fingers between your upper and lower front teeth) and stretching my jaw to ensure that my mouth didn't heal itself shut again.

I would take some advil and see how it progresses. (Soreness, stiffness, etc.) If it's not shooting or stabbing pain, it's most likely related to the procedure itself and not a botched root canal. If it gets worse, definitely call your dentist.

A hate crime is twofold - the assault on the specific victim and the threat to the community s/he represents to the assaulter.

technically, I don't believe that there is requirement to threaten the community to which the victim belongs.

Burning a cross on someone's lawn though... is it just property damage? Or is it a larger threat to a community?

Although technically, burning a cross on a random christian white person's lawn may not be considered a hate crime, burning a cross is inherently a hate crime based on its history. I mean, why else would someone burn a cross?

for warmth?

Just kidding!!