Got a Toothache?

In honor of the aunt who raised my mom. Her name was Apollonia. I don't remember her as she was very sick, in the nursing home when I was little. Mom said she always smiled when I was around. My mom has a fondness for her aunt, obviously, but I often wonder if my mother's life was as idyllic as she makes it seem. She grew up with her aunt while her siblings lived around the block with their parents. It was a custom for one of the older children in an Spanish family to be raised by a grandparent. Mom's grandfather died when she was young and she stayed with her aunt, who was unmarried and no children of her own. I find this tradition a bit odd, but I know others who say it's how it was.

Anyway, I give you St. Apollonia. Taken from Catholic Online Saint of the Day because I'm lazy today.

St. Apollonia
Feastday: February 9, 249

St. Apollonia

St. Apollonia, who died in the year 249, was martyred for not renouncing her faith during the reign of Emperor Philip. The account of the life of St. Apollonia was written by St. Dionysius to Fabian, Bishop of Antioch. Apollonia had all her teeth knocked out after being hit in the face by a Christian persecutor under the reign of Emperor Philip. After she was threatened with fire unless she renounced her faith, Apollonia jumped into the flames voluntarily. She is considered the patron of dental diseases and is often invoked by those with toothaches. Ancient art depicts her with a golden tooth at the end of her necklace. Also in art, she is seen with pincers holding a tooth.