February 09 — Apolline of Alexandria, Saint Apolline or Apollonia, who died in 249 in Alexandria (Egypt), is a Christian martyr. The account of Apolline's martyrdom is taken from a letter from Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria.

In 250, the Emperor Dèce promulgated an edict obliging all citizens to offer sacrifices to the gods for the safeguard of the Empire, under penalty of death, an edict which marked the beginning of a new period of persecution against Christians.

In Alexandria as elsewhere, the pagans could hunt the Christians with impunity and kill them as they wished. The authorities allowed it to happen and even approved of it.

Apolline was no longer young and was part of a group of consecrated virgins. After shattering her jaw and breaking all her teeth, her torturers put her before a pyre, threatening to throw her there if she did not repeat insults to Christ after them. She politely apologized for not being able to satisfy them; then, taking advantage of their distraction, she ran and threw herself into the flames.

Because of her martyrdom: the pulling out of her teeth and the shattering of her jaws, St. Apolline is invoked in case of toothache. She is the patron saint of dentists. She is recognized by a young woman holding a pair of pliers and a palm.