ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Clayton A. Chan, DDS
Founder and director of Occlusion Connections, the Center for Gneuromuscular Dentistry and Orthopedic Advancement in Las Vegas, Nevada.
38
YEARS IN PRACTICE
18
YEARS TEACHING AT OC
1999
FIRST NM WEBSITE ONLINE
20+
NATIONS COME TO LEARN
Dr. Clayton A. Chan is not simply a dental educator. He is the developer of Gneuromuscular Dentistry (GNM) — a measurement-based clinical system for diagnosing and treating occlusal and TMD disorders, grounded in objective physiologic data rather than subjective interpretation or consensus-based assumption.
This is where the missing science lives.
For dentists who sense the profession has been teaching the same paradigm for sixty years — and that something more precise must exist — that instinct is correct.
This is where the missing science lives.
WHAT HE TEACHES
Occlusion does not have to be complicated. Dr. Chan teaches the everyday dentist the practical fundamentals — how to find and manage the bite with confidence — so that the dentistry you already do becomes more predictable, more stable, and far less of a guess.
How to find the bite — the Chan-Optimized Bite™
Locate correct jaw position and a physiologic bite with confidence — through Dr. Chan's own optimized method, grounded in objective measurement rather than feel or guesswork.
How to establish the occlusal plane and vertical dimension
Determine the proper occlusal plane and VDO predictably — the foundation beneath every sound restoration.
How to manage and transfer the bite accurately
Bite management and bite transfer done with precision — so what you plan is what you deliver in the mouth.
How to know a case is stable before you restore it and so much more.
Apply gnathologic principles and neuromuscular science together — so everyday cases become more predictable and far less of a guess.
ACROSS THREE CLINICAL DISCIPLINES
Restorative
Orthodontic / Orthopedics
TMD
THE LINEAGE HE CARRIES
Dr. Chan honors the teachers whose work he inherited and carried forward — two established lineages, the structural and the physiologic, which he drew together into one.
THE GNATHOLOGIC LINE
Dr. Charles Stuart
↓
Dr. Gus Swab — Stuart’s student
↓
Dr. Philip Taylor — Swab’s student
The structural science of occlusion. Dr. Taylor was Dr. Chan's direct teacher in this gnathologic tradition.
THE NEUROMUSCULAR LINE
↓ ↓
Dr. Robert Jankelson — son · K7 instrumentation
Dr. James Garry — student · airway pioneer
Dr. Chan entered this lineage through James Garry, his first NM mentor, and deepened it with Robert Jankelson.
THOSE WHO SHAPED HIS CLINICAL EYE
Dr. James Garry
A pioneer in upper-airway obstruction and sleep apnea awareness, and a board-certified pediatric dentist who relinquished his specialty to practice as a general dentist. Dr. Chan's first neuromuscular mentor.
Dr. Terrance O'Shaughnessy
A board-certified orthodontist who shaped Dr. Chan's reading of tomography and joint and cervical imaging — and gave him the confidence and clarity to document his clinical findings in formal reports.
Dr. Gary Wolford
An oral surgeon who practiced TMD from the neuromuscular perspective and an LVI teaching colleague. His 8 classifications of craniomandibular disorders sharpened Dr. Chan's clinical thinking and his objective, K7-measured approach to diagnosis.
FROM LVI TO OCCLUSION CONNECTIONS
1999 – 2006 · THE LAS VEGAS INSTITUTE
Dr. Chan was invited to teach at the Las Vegas Institute while still practicing in San Diego, relocating to Las Vegas in 2001. As Director of Neuromuscular Dentistry, he established the Jankelson neuromuscular occlusion and orthodontic curriculum, introduced Myotronics K7 instrumentation alongside his mentor Dr. Robert Jankelson, and brought leading neuromuscular figures — Dr. James Garry, Dr. Gary Wolford, and Dr. Norman Thomas — to teach there.
JULY 2006 · A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE
Dr. Chan resigned over philosophical differences in how the science and application of neuromuscular, K7, and J5 Dental TENS concepts were being taught. He respectfully honored a two-year non-compete agreement in full — stepping back from teaching anywhere in North America for that period, rather than compromise his convictions or his word.
2006 – 2008 · THE QUIET YEARS
2008 · OCCLUSION CONNECTIONS IS FOUNDED
When the two years passed, Dr. Chan was encouraged by Dr. Byron Blasco, Nevada State Board Dental Examiner and former President of the Nevada Dental Association, to teach once again. With that encouragement — and the requests of colleagues across the United States and Canada — he founded Occlusion Connections, the Center for Gneuromuscular Dentistry and Orthopedic Advancement, to carry the work further than the inherited concepts alone could go.
THE TEACHING
At its heart, Occlusion Connections exists to give the general dentist a deeper understanding of what dental education left out — the diagnosis and treatment planning that the profession too often passes over. Dr. Chan teaches the full Masterclass personally, in small and intimate settings in Las Vegas, where dentists from more than twenty nations come to learn.
337
COURSES TAUGHT
677
DAYS OF INSTRUCTION
4,754
HOURS LECTURING
9,952
HOURS TEACHING
THE OC MASTERCLASS CURRICULUM
9
LEVELS OF GNM OCCLUSION
A comprehensive progression that rebuilds the dentist’s understanding of diagnosis, treatment planning, and physiologic occlusion from the ground up.
3
LEVELS OF GNM ORTHODONTICS
An orthodontic and orthopedic continuum that extends GNM principles into growth, alignment, and craniofacial development.
Throughout the curriculum, K7 instrumentation serves quietly as the objective proof beneath the teaching — confirming that these methods rest on measured physiologic data, not subjective feel. A dedicated K7 course is offered separately for dentists who bring the instrumentation into their own practice.
RECOGNITION & CREDENTIALS
A proud graduate of Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, Dr. Chan has achieved advanced standing across the organizations central to craniomandibular and occlusal dentistry.
MASTERSHIP
FELLOWSHIP
DIPLOMATE
EDUCATION
Doctor of Dental Surgery
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry
MEMBERSHIPS
American Dental Association · Nevada Dental Association · California Dental Association
Founding Member, Appliance Therapy Practitioners Association
Author of numerous peer-reviewed articles on neuromuscular dentistry and dental occlusion, including published works in the ICCMO Anthology.
AVAILABLE TO LECTURE
See where he has spoken — and where he is headed next — or contact the office to invite him to your meeting, study club, or organization.
A WORD OF TESTIMONY
Dr. Chan holds that Occlusion Connections was never the product of ambition or marketing, but of a calling — and that for eighteen years it has grown by word of mouth alone. He will share that testimony here, in his own words.
CONTINUE LEARNING
About Occlusion Connections →
The center, its mission, and the work it exists to do.
The OC Masterclass →
Course schedule and the path through the curriculum.
Doctor Education →
Go deeper into the clinical teaching and the science behind GNM.
A NOTE OF HISTORY
drclaytonchan.com — the very first “Neuromuscular Dentistry” website posted on the internet, in March 1999. At that time the terms “Neuromuscular,” “NM,” and “Neuromuscular Dentistry” appeared nowhere online. From there, the field grew and evolved into what it is today.
Occlusion Connections — The Center for Gneuromuscular Dentistry and Orthopedic Advancement
6170 W. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89146 · (702) 271-2950
Course registration: jane@occlusionconnections.com
Copyright © Occlusion Connections™ All rights reserved.