OCCLUSION & TMD CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR DENTISTS
Everything You Were Taught About the Bite was Good —
but not Complete.
Dentistry has learned to evaluate teeth, joints, and occlusion.
But what if we could also measure the patient’s physiology?
objective measurement · K7 instrumentation · 30+ years · classes of 15
When the teeth look right, why doesn’t the patient always feel right?
Look Familiar?
- Why do crowns break even after full-mouth rehabs?
- Why do orthodontic cases relapse even after teeth were straightened?
- Why do patients hurt and complain when everything looks right?
- Why do implant cases fail when the restorative work was ideal?
- Why can different dentists interpret the same bite differently?
"Patient looks normal. Teeth look normal. But the patient doesn't feel normal."
Maybe it’s another measurement.
The missing information
What we can see
- Teeth
- Occlusion
- Radiographs
- Scans
- Clinical findings
What we can measure
- Muscle activity
- Mandibular movement
- Joint sounds
- Physiologic response
A more complete clinical picture
THE GAP
What Your Current Training May Not Have Told You
01
Your intraoral scanner captures the bite that exists. GNM finds the physiologic bite that should exist. Those are not the same thing.
02
Every occlusion course you have taken assumed a starting point. GNM measures it.
03
If occlusion was ruled out as a TMD factor — ask what measuring instrument was used to rule it out. Subjective examination is not measurement.
04
Digital analysis of a wrong bite position is still a wrong bite position — rendered in higher resolution.
GNM begins where conventional dentistry doesn’t — at physiologic rest, the diagnostic baseline from which everything else is measured.
EMG shows you what is wrong with the case.
Eight-channel surface EMG before and after GNM orthotic treatment — chronic muscle compensation returning to physiologic harmonic frequency range when the bite is restored to harmonic proportion.
Jaw tracking shows you how far the bite is from where it should be.
K7 Scan 4/5 — the mandible’s habitual, classical myo, and optimized myo trajectories, measured against centric occlusion while TENS is active. Each grid square = 1 mm.
Still have unanswered clinical questions after years of post-graduate training? That gap has a name. It’s GNM.
This is the idea behind Gneuromuscular Dentistry.
Gnathology
Structure and function
Neuromuscular physiology
Muscle and nervous-system function
Objective measurement
Measure · Interpret · Verify
=
GNM
A PROVEN DISCIPLINE
What GNM Is
GNM is not a rejection of gnathology or neuromuscular dentistry. It bridges them — joining gnathologic structural principles with objectively measured neuromuscular science.
A proven clinical discipline — the application of objectively measured neuromuscular science, getting the bite right.
TURN MYSTERY CASES INTO PREDICTABLE OUTCOMES.
Occlusion — the Measured Foundation
of Advanced Dentistry
OC teaches three clinical disciplines — TMD, Restorative, and Ortho/Orthopedics.
Every case begins with the same question: Where is the physiologic position, and have we measured it objectively?
Examine
Measure
Interpret
Treat
Verify
THE DOCTOR EXPERIENCE
You Don’t Need a K7 to Start.
Learn the principles first. Develop the clinical skills. Add instrumentation as your knowledge and practice evolve.
OC teaches the key principles of bio-physiology — clinically what to identify practically, and how to recognize the problems that lead to failure — before any technology is brought in. The foundational concepts do not require sophisticated tools or devices.
The science
Don’t Take Our Word for It. Explore the Science.
K7 instrumentation is FDA-cleared and was ADA-accepted as a diagnostic aid for TMD. See the regulatory record →
From Dentists Who Trained With OC
Hear From Dentists Whose Practices Were Transformed
Doctors from around the world who have trained with Occlusion Connections, in their own words.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
“Having attended level one this weekend really makes me appreciate the sequencing of your curriculum. As has been said many times on the forum, and after originally jumping in at level five because I made some wrong assumptions about what might be presented in the more “beginner courses” I truly appreciate the sequence of transitioning from one tooth dentistry to whole mouth dentistry. As one matures as a dentist one continually seeks answers. Mine were all about occlusion. If your information had of been as readily available as its is today through OC, my journey would have been more self satisfying and stress free because your work provides so much more of the bigger picture than any dental school can. I wholeheartedly advise anyone who is early in this journey to partake in your curriculum. It will make them so much more confident in their daily practices and. The patients really appreciate knowing what is going on in their mouths and bodies.” No one has ever explained that to me before.”
— Marke Pedersen, BSc, D.D.S., Former Chairman of Pacific Dental Conference, Vancouver/Vernon, B.C. Canada (K7 owner, NM experienced)
Micro Occlusion Is the Hallmark of GNM
“Micro Occlusion is the hallmark of GNM”. Too often this is not worked out in detail in other teachings. The missing “DOT dentistry” isn’t appreciated enough. There is a lack of emphasis to truly allow the teeth to come into contact into a terminal end point without torque and tension. There is so much talk on finding the trajectory which is important but too little on the end point Micro-Occlusion.”
— Dr. Jerry Lim, BDS (Singapore), FRACDS (Australia), (OC Levels 1-7, K7 owner)
Did We Objectively Measure and Analyze?
“Often we seek to get our patients “NORMAL, out of pain and comfortable. We stop at that point in our treatment. Did we objectively measure and analyze what the physiology of our finished treatment? Did we measure clinically the QUALITY OF THE FUNCTION and the QUALITY OF RESTING ABILITY of our CASES to prove we achieved our NM Goals Objectively?”
— Brad Hester, D.M.D., Bend, OR (OC Levels 1-8, Ortho 1-2, K7 owner)
Treasures That Should Be Cherished
“Our chest is full of little treasures that should not only be cherished, but fully appreciated for they are keys to unlocking the mystery of WHY people don’t respond to so many other medical modalities and professional treatments. Understanding WHY canine rise and what happens after the canine is done (or WHY even some people have limited range of motion and can’t move past their canines, WHY condyle/disc relationships cannot be ignored, but must be reduced) – these are critical pieces of the TMJ-NM puzzle. What are the dentists biggest challenges? Do we attribute our failures to something other than what we are doing and blaming airway, or psychological issues, or . . . something else?”
— Lawrence M. Stanleigh BSc, MSc DDS, Calgary, AB (OC Levels 1-8, K7 owner)
Highly Recommend: You Won’t Regret
“I encourage every dentist who has some or no occlusion background should take Occlusion connection courses. I have taken 8 +2 courses with Dr.Clayton Chan and no doubt it has transformed my dental career and allowed me to practice advanced dentistry with high confidence. Honestly speaking, I have used and applied OC or GNM concept taught by Dr. Chan, in everything I do in dentistry from restorative, ortho, TMJ treatment to full mouth rehab with crowns or AOX prosthesis. Highly recommend his courses and I can reassure you won’t regret. I really got hooked and addicted to his teaching at the beginning and it did take me two straight years to complete his 8+2 courses. Thanks Dr. Chan for your unique OC GNM teaching!!!”
— Cory N. Nguyen, D.D.S., Dallas, TX (K7 owner, OC Levels 8+2)
OC Has Increased My Success Level
“As you know, my practice is limited to TMD and Sleep Dentistry. I’m basically a bite doctor. In addition to my local office, I work with a group of prosthodontists. Taking your curriculum has increased the success level of my patient care significantly. My patients, my referring doctors, and the doctors I work with at Ozark Prosthodontics all thank you for what you have allowed me to do for them. It’s made it worth making those trips to Las Vegas. I think you know how much I hate leaving my little farm here in rural Arkansas, so that’s saying a lot.”
— Stephen C. Fisher, D.D.S., Clarksville, AR (OC Levels 1-8, Ortho 1-2, K7 owner)
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Three Ways Into Clarity.
Doctor Education
For the clinician ready to go deeper into GNM occlusion, TMD, and the measured disciplines.
ENTER →Patient Education
For patients seeking to understand their bite, their symptoms, and how GNM dentistry helps.
ENTER →OC Perspective
The philosophy behind the practice — why GNM measures what others assume.
ENTER →9 + 3 LEVELS
The next level of your clinical education begins here.
The most comprehensive GNM occlusion and TMD curriculum in the world.
The curriculum built for dentists who refuse to guess.
6170 W. Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89146
K7 instrumentation is FDA-cleared and was ADA-accepted as a diagnostic aid for TMD. See the regulatory record →