Someone San Diego Should Know: Thomas Fitzpatrick

Entering Mid-City Nazarene Church in City Heights from its side entrance, a visitor walks up a narrow staircase. At the top, the visitor may be surprised by what is found — a bustling and brightly lit multi-room dental office named Cura Smiles, complete with four dental chairs, equipment and supplies.

It is not a typical dental office. In 2024, alone, there were more than 1,500 dental procedures, valued at over $400,000, performed- all without charge.

Opened in 2019, Cura Smiles is the brainchild of Del Mar dentist Thomas Fitzpatrick. “The idea behind Cura Smiles is simply to serve people with limited or no access to dental care,” he said.

Serving others has always been important to Fitzpatrick.

He was born in 1978 and raised in Redding. His parents were active in the Nazarene Church and instilled in their four children the church’s tenet of service to others.“We believe that to serve God in this way is an expression of our love for Him,” Fitzpatrick said.

“My parents instilled it by example. They worked with refugees from Laos and Thailand and helped start a Mien Nazarene Church in Redding. Growing up, my family was always involved with their weddings and celebrations and my mom would teach them English.”

The Mien are an ethnic minority people from southeast Asia, many of whom fled to the U.S. after the Vietnam War.

Following his parents’ example, during high school Fitzpatrick traveled to El Salvador with a church group to...