GNM Orthotic Fabrication

The Keys to Design & Construction of the Anatomical GNM Orthosis

This 2½-day hands-on laboratory masterclass solidifies the GNM dentist’s understanding of Dr. Chan’s bite optimization principles and how he fabricates his removable orthotics from start to finish. Step-by-step details and protocols are demonstrated — and then done, by you, at the bench.

Attendees fabricate two lower removable anatomical GNM orthotics for their own TMD patients — patients who seek pain resolution and comprehensive restorative stabilization — following Dr. Chan’s protocols, tools and methods from start to finish. You leave having actually made them, and understanding why every step matters to Phase I GNM orthotic and occlusal management.

This course is for doctors who are truly searching — the ones still asking the deeper questions. Dentists who aren’t searching won’t be interested. They think high technology, digital scanning and printing are the answer.

But the experienced and detail-aware clinician knows there are flaws and weaknesses in the existing occlusal philosophies, in appliance and bite management, and even faulty perceptions about orthotic design. Sometimes the simple approach and the low-tech material is what produces the proven control and the precision — seen, observed and witnessed by experienced clinicians who are not easily fooled.

For them, the OC GNM teachings in orthotic fabrication complete the journey, and supply the missing pieces.

• Understand the complete occlusal bite optimization and management process
• Understand the steps to construct the optimized anatomical orthotic
• Tools, equipment and armamentarium required
• Mounting the models — articulator systems
• Identifying which NM bites are right and which ones are wrong
• Which bite registration materials are best — rigid or soft PVS
• Block-out and undercut management
• Fabricating the base of the orthotic, and layering the base for anatomical form
• Implementing Dr. Chan’s occlusal carving system to create anatomical occlusal form
• Designing the key to proper form and disclusion
• Peripheral borders, thickness and retention
• Polishing — and the practice management pros and cons

• How to construct the lower removable anatomical GNM orthotic per Dr. Chan’s instruction
• Each step Dr. Chan uses in his own laboratory, for his own patients, in fabricating the orthosis
• The differences between standard orthotics and optimized orthotics that make a clinical difference
• The critical keys to orthotic management and fabrication that many NM clinicians have not fully understood — and why some do not get the clinical results they are looking for
• Why each step is important to achieving gneuromuscular success
• How to maintain quality control with your orthotics — and the practice management benefits of doing your own

This course is not marketed, and never has been. Most busy dentists have no interest in fabricating their own orthotics — it is time-consuming, exacting work. But over the years, a few unique and sharp dentists have wanted something more: to know every step Dr. Chan takes when he makes his own orthotics, with nothing held back.

The doctors who came to learn those specific steps became better-skilled, more knowledgeable operators — above and beyond most OC GNM dentists. Making the orthosis with your own hands teaches a command of occlusal form, disclusion and detail that cannot be learned any other way — and it shows in everything those doctors do afterward, whether or not they ever fabricate in-house again.

This is a private session, arranged personally, for the truly seeking and dedicated practitioner who wants to learn Dr. Chan’s secrets first-hand. You learn the way he actually works: his tools, his sequence, his carving system, his quality standards. If that describes you, contact Jane.

Occlusion Connections Inc — Nationally Approved PACE Program Provider for FAGD/MAGD credit. Approval does not imply acceptance by any regulatory authority or AGD endorsement. 9/1/2026 to 8/31/2032. Provider ID# 349336.

Clayton A. Chan, D.D.S. — Founder, Director, and Teacher of Occlusion Connections — The Center for Gneuromuscular Dentistry and Orthopedic Advancement.

Before dental school, Dr. Chan received his dental laboratory technology education and training at the Dental Technology Institute (Orange, CA) — he is a technician as well as a clinician, and this course is taught from both chairs. A graduate of Loma Linda University School of Dentistry with over 35 years in general practice, he has applied his gnathologic and neuromuscular training across comprehensive restorative dentistry, orthodontics/orthopedics and TMD care. In this course he demonstrates, live, exactly how he fabricates the orthotics he delivers to his own patients — every step, every tool, every standard. More about Dr. Chan →