Relief.

UPDATE: It turns out that the little post the temporary crown was hanging on had broken into five pieces, which is what caused the abscess. Dear Dr. Lars dug them all out of my jaw, cleaned out the pit, and sutured it shut to heal (without once saying "yuck" or "gross" or excusing himself to have a big heave). He then proceeded to bond a cute little tooth-esque widget in so that there's not some big funky hole, and explained to me with all due gravity that I must ingest the antibiotic four times daily or risk not only not getting better, but actually getting worse. I may not drink from a straw for at least a week; I must cut way down on tobacco intake with an eye toward the Q-word (that's Q-U-I-T -- shudder); I must not bite into anything with my front teeth.

My face is nearly back to normal (except for the right side of my top lip, which seems a bit stupid still, but I'm sure it will pass) and the pain is almost always controllable with a lesser amount of Darvocet and some ibuprofen. I really feel much better now!

Thanks, Lars! : )