St. Apollonia was an elderly Christian woman of Alexandria in Egypt who, in the year 249, had all her teeth broken out by a mob before she chose death by fire rather than deny Christ. Because of her sufferings she became the patron saint of dentists and of everyone with toothache and dental problems, and dentists’ associations around the world still honor her on her feast, February 9. Below are prayers to St. Apollonia for toothache, before a dental procedure and for dentists, the eyewitness account of her martyrdom from the bishop of Alexandria, and her story.
A prayer to St. Apollonia for toothache
Written for this page:
St. Apollonia, you suffered terrible pain in your mouth
and remained faithful to Christ.
Pray for me in this toothache and pain.
Ask the Lord to relieve my suffering, to heal what is infected or broken,
and to give me patience until I can be treated. Amen.
A prayer before a dental procedure
St. Apollonia, patron of all who need dental care,
calm my nerves as I go to the dentist today.
Guide the hands of my dentist and the staff,
let the treatment be successful and without complications,
and help me to heal quickly. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See also the prayer before surgery.
A prayer for dentists and dental workers
St. Apollonia, patron of dentists,
bless all who care for teeth: dentists, hygienists, assistants and technicians.
Give them skill, gentleness and patience with fearful patients,
and let their work bring relief and confidence to many. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See the patron saints of professions.
A prayer for a child at the dentist
St. Apollonia, be with (name) at the dentist today.
Help him (her) to be brave, take away fear and pain,
and keep his (her) teeth healthy and strong. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page.
The eyewitness account of her martyrdom
St. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, described the riot against the Christians of his city in a letter to Fabius, bishop of Antioch, which the historian Eusebius preserved in his Church History. In the translation of Arthur Cushman McGiffert (1890):
Then they seized also that most admirable virgin, Apollonia, an old woman, and, smiting her on the jaws, broke out all her teeth. And they made a fire outside the city and threatened to burn her alive if she would not join with them in their impious cries. And she, supplicating a little, was released, when she leaped eagerly into the fire and was consumed.
The Church has never regarded her walking into the fire as suicide: she was already condemned, and theologians explain her act as a martyr’s free acceptance of death, under a special inspiration of God, rather than deny Christ.
Jesus’ words to his disciples were fulfilled in her:
And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.
The story of St. Apollonia
Apollonia lived in Alexandria, the great city of Egypt, in the third century, and was described by St. Dionysius as a “most admirable virgin” and an old woman. Some later accounts call her a deaconess. In 249, during the last year of the emperor Philip the Arab, a mob in Alexandria turned on the Christians, a year before the empire-wide persecution of the emperor Decius. They beat her, broke out her teeth and threatened to burn her alive unless she joined in their pagan cries. She asked to be released for a moment and then walked freely into the fire.
Devotion to her spread throughout the Church. In medieval art she is shown holding a pair of pincers gripping a tooth, and people with toothache prayed to her for relief. Today she is the patron of dentists, and her feast is often marked by dental schools and associations.
Feast day and patronage
- Feast day: February 9 (in the Roman Martyrology). A novena can run from January 31 to February 8.
- Patron of: dentists, dental hygienists, and people with toothache and dental problems.
- Symbols: pincers holding a tooth, and the martyr’s palm.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of dentists?
St. Apollonia, an early martyr of Alexandria whose teeth were broken out before her death.
When is St. Apollonia’s feast day?
February 9.
Is there a prayer to St. Apollonia for toothache?
Yes. The prayers on this page ask her intercession for relief from tooth pain and for successful dental treatment.
Why is St. Apollonia the patron of toothache?
Because her persecutors smashed her jaws and broke out all her teeth before her martyrdom.
More prayers
- St. Blaise prayer for throat ailments
- Patron saints of healing
- Unusual patron saints
- St. Agatha prayer
- Prayers to popular saints
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Account of her martyrdom: Eusebius, Church History VI.41.7, quoting a letter of St. Dionysius of Alexandria, translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, vol. 1 (1890), public domain (Wikisource).
- Scripture: Matthew 10:28, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayers were written for this page.