{"id":542338,"date":"2026-01-25T18:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T18:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/542338\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T18:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T18:25:11","slug":"cura-smiles-to-offer-dental-care-clinic-for-child-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/542338\/","title":{"rendered":"Cura Smiles to offer dental care clinic for child refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Located in City Heights, Cura Smiles is a free dental clinic offering sustainable care to individuals and families without access to healthcare. (File photo courtesy of Olive Public Relations)<\/p>\n

Even in a best-case scenario, dental care can be difficult to access. <\/p>\n

For a refugee, getting access to care is more difficult still. Coming from a destabilized region without ready access to medical care can sometimes cause interrelated, systemic issues which translate, in the United States, to overwhelming costs and sky-high payments.<\/p>\n

To this end, City Heights-based dental nonprofit Cura Smiles<\/a> will partner with Seeds of Hope<\/a> \u2014 an organization dedicated to supporting refugee children and families as they rebuild their lives in the United States \u2014 to host a dental clinic at the beginning of next month for refugee children in San Diego in honor of Children\u2019s Dental Health Month<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur primary goal is to get people out of pain,\u201d said Christine Passmore, executive director of\u00a0Cura\u00a0Smiles<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s a bunch of kids who are in desperate need of dental care.\u201d<\/p>\n

But of course, it\u2019s not just about pain. Dental issues can touch on every single aspect of an individual\u2019s life, especially when that life has already been marked by trauma. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s the mental health and the self-esteem part of it too,\u201d said Passmore. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen such beautiful stories of transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cura Smiles\u2019 stated mission is to address the physical and psychological effects of poor oral health, which often leads to social stigma, pain, discomfort, and systemic health issues. To this end, the clinic will provide patients with free, comprehensive dental services, including exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings, and extractions.<\/p>\n

The following week, on February 20,\u00a0Cura\u00a0Smiles will host its Second Annual\u00a0Hearts Over Hate<\/a>\u00a0Clinic. The event honors the life of Dr. Benjamin Harouni<\/a>, a dentist practicing in the El Cajon area who was killed in 2024, just days after his 28th birthday. <\/p>\n

In partnership with Hearts Over Hate, which was founded by Harouni\u2019s family, the clinic will serve still more patients \u2014 about 25 \u2014 who lack access to essential care. More than 30 patients were treated in last year\u2019s initial dental clinic.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s clinic holds special significance, landing on what would have been Harouni\u2019s 30th birthday. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis clinic is a beautiful way to honor Benjamin\u2019s heart for others,\u201d said Passmore. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to the Harouni family and Hearts Over Hate for partnering with us to carry forward his legacy of kindness, generosity, and transformational care.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information, including where people can donate to support the clinics, can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Located in City Heights, Cura Smiles is a free dental clinic offering sustainable care to individuals and families…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":542339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,34657,239109,62586,3096,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-542338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-city-heights","tag-cura-smiles","tag-dentists","tag-refugees","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115957145538117740","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}