Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Patron Saint of Dentistry



In 249 AD Rome, a woman named Apollonia was tortured and killed for practicing her Christian faith in public. Legend has it that “her tormentors broke her teeth with iron points, and extracted the roots with tongs.”

The legend also says that after her teeth were broken, she was given a choice of renouncing her faith or being burned alive, whereupon she voluntarily jumped into the fire. Her suffering resulted in her canonization as the Patron Saint of Dentistry in 300 AD.

The following is a prayer to Saint Apollonia:

“Apollonia, Apollonia, Holy Saint in Heaven,
see my pain in yourself. Free me from evil pain,
for my toothache may torture me to death.”

Keep smiling.

Saundra Goodman
Got Teeth? A Survivor’s Guide
How to keep your teeth or live without them.
http://www.gotteethguide.com/