Builder finally nails cause of toothache

A DENTIST found the source of the toothache Patrick Lawler was complaining about on the roof of his mouth: a 4in nail the construction worker had unknowingly embedded in his skull six days earlier.

A nail gun backfired on Mr Lawler, 23, on January 6 while working in Breckenridge, a ski resort town in the central Colorado mountains. The tool sent a nail into a piece of wood nearby, but Mr Lawler did not realise a second nail had shot through his mouth, said his sister, Lisa Metcalse.

Following the accident, Mr Lawler had what he thought was a minor toothache and blurry vision. On Wednesday, after painkillers and ice failed to ease the pain, he went to a dental office where his wife, Katerina, works.