Pirate Profile: Brianna Chavis-Locklear | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Spaine Stephens, is a contributor to ECU News Services.


    When she was a little girl growing up in the Robeson County community of Prospect, Brianna Chavis-Locklear's older sister came home from a dental appointment with braces on her teeth. The shiny metal and the transformation they brought with them fascinated Chavis-Locklear; as a child she spent hours drawing them and imagining a future as a dentist.

    Now as a fourth-year student in East Carolina University's School of Dental Medicine, Chavis-Locklear hopes she can have an impact on young children back home in Robeson County and beyond-by sparking ideas and knowledge about dental health early in life.

    "Working with children is a passion of mine because if you can reach a child and change his or her mindset about oral health, you're changing the future," she said.

    Chavis-Locklear recently completed a clinical rotation at the dental school's community service learning center (CSLC) in Robeson County. The center is one of eight statewide offices where fourth-year students work with faculty to provide care to patients in rural and underserved communities.

    The students complete three nine-week rotations during their last year, adding 27 weeks of hands-on training to their classroom and lab experiences in addition to two rotations in ECU's Ross Hall clinics.

    For Chavis-Locklear, doing a rotation so close to home was a dream come true, from being able to provide oral health care to proving that life goals are within arms' length.

    Dental student Brianna Chavis-Locklear studies in Ross Hall.

    "I would really like to go back home to practice if that works out," she said. "Going back to the CSLC was really fun. I was able to see people I knew, and I was so glad that they were able to see that people from their home county do pursue their dreams. A lot of them are not used to seeing someone from there pursuing dentistry."

    She also wants that impression to be cemented in the minds of children from her community and any others she has the chance to work with.

    "Oral health literacy is very low for many reasons, from no access to care, not being able to afford it and living in an underserved area," Chavis-Locklear said. "I look at my grandparents and realized they generally really missed out when it came to things like dental care. The next generation starts with children. If I can teach them basic dental care, hopefully they will go home and mention what I've taught them to their parents."

    Chavis-Locklear has begun that effort through volunteer activities with school children and family events that emphasize healthy dental habits.

    "That's been my biggest driving factor," she said. "That's what's really made me believe I'm making a difference while I'm here."

    Being part of ECU's dental school has added a dimension to Chavis-Locklear's dental education that she was not able to foresee early on. The course work is rigorous, yet faculty are accessible for guidance at any time. The CSLCs, she said, provide students an edge in clinical work and a boost of confidence that comes with the success and practice of hands-on patient care.

    "I didn't realize how fortunate I would be in that way," she said. "I really hope this is something that dental schools will trend toward. As fourth-year students, we are a step ahead because of how many cases and situations we are exposed to and how many more patients we are able to see. The volume of care is more similar to private practice."

    Whether she and her classmates enter private practice or pursue residency programs after graduation, Chavis-Locklear feels that ECU prepared them to succeed not only in patient care but through the connections they have built over the years.

    "The community and family environment was what drew me to ECU, in addition to wanting to stay in North Carolina," Chavis-Locklear said. "If I needed anything from faculty or classmates, I could reach out. All the girls in my class have one big group text, and we'll still have that after we leave, if we need each other or have professional questions."

    On a whim toward the end of her first year of dental school, Chavis-Locklear searched online for American Indian scholarships. Not only did she receive scholarship support, but she also discovered the Society of American Indian Dentists. Through them, she found another whole family of like-minded future dentists with bonds beyond their interests in oral health care.

    "That experience has helped me make so many connections and open other doors," she said.

    Chavis-Locklear wants her own future to offer such opportunities to others who can see themselves in her determination and success.

    "I really want to see American Indian youth and children be able to visualize and see themselves going beyond what earlier generations did," she said. "A lot of times, there's not enough encouragement and mentorship to do something that someone in their family hasn't done. A big thing for me is becoming not only a dentist-but a mentor, too."

    What advice do you have for other students? Focus on your path and no one else's. The journey to your final destination will be different from your neighbor's. This is something I struggled with prior to beginning dental school, but when you accept your path and make the most of it, life is that much better!

    What is something cool about ECU that you wish you knew during your first year? Before starting dental school, I didn't realize the benefit we have at ECU through the SoDM's community service learning centers. While most fourth-year dental students are only seeing two patients a day in their school's clinic, we are seeing four to six patients while rotating at the service learning centers. Also, to have a CSLC close to my hometown where I was able to go back and provide care is a dream come true.