Course Title: Initiation of Orthopedic/Orthodontic Treatment
Teaching Method: Lecture, Participation
Prerequisite Courses: General Dentists — OC Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and Ortho 1 | Orthodontic Specialists — OC Levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and Ortho 1
CE Credit Hours: 16
AGD Subject Code(s): 370 Orthodontics
Ortho 2 - Initiation of Orthopedic/Orthodontic Treatment
Initiating Brackets and Wire Mechanics — Where GNM Orthodontics and Orthopedics Becomes Clinical Reality.
A 2-Day Masterclass and Hands-On Training with Dr. Clayton A. Chan
This is where your GNM orthodontic journey advances from foundation to clinical execution.
(Ortho 2 is offered in conjunction with Ortho 1.)
Ortho 1 Gave You the Foundation. Ortho 2 Puts You to Work.
You understand the big picture — the orthopedic foundation, the GNM philosophy, the physiologic bite record that sets the stage. Now it is time to answer the question every Ortho 1 graduate faces:
How do I actually start treating my orthodontic patients with confidence?
Ortho 2 answers that question — systematically, practically and with the clinical confidence that comes from learning bracket placement, wire mechanics and case management directly from Dr. Chan.
Who This Course Is For
- Ortho 1 graduates ready to move from understanding into clinical execution
- GNM trained dentists who want to confidently initiate bracket placement and wire mechanics in their own practice
- Dentists with some ortho background who need the GNM framework to make their existing skills more effective
- Clinicians working alongside orthodontic specialists who want to understand, communicate and oversee cases at a higher level
What Makes Ortho 2 Different
Every mechanic, every wire selection, every appliance choice is taught within the GNM framework — anchored to the optimized physiologic myo-trajectory and bite position established in Phase 1 and confirmed with objective K7 data.
The Verticalization Focus — What No Other Ortho Course Teaches
The defining clinical skill of Ortho 2 is verticalization — transitioning the patient from the existing lower removable GNM orthotic to the final orthopedic position through controlled bone development.
This is not tooth alignment. This is orthopedics.
The Enlow and Hans Craniofacial Growth Principles Applied:
- Bone grows — but only when the correct forces are applied in the correct direction at the correct time
- Vertical development requires understanding the underlying osseous foundation — not just the teeth
- Craniofacial remodeling follows predictable biological laws that GNM trained dentists can harness clinically
- The GNM orthotic sets the stage — verticalization mechanics build upon it systematically
Understanding and applying these principles is what separates GNM orthopedics from conventional bracket and wire therapy — and it is what makes Ortho 2 unlike any other orthodontic course available.
The Result: Orthodontic treatment with a clear measurable endpoint — stable physiologic occlusion that holds because the orthopedic foundation beneath it is correct.
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Correctly place the arch of brackets for effective fixed therapy and mechanics
- Understand bracket placement and positioning to properly align tip and torque using fixed appliance therapy
- Recognize the indications and contraindications of arch wire systems
- Select arch wires and arch forms appropriate for leveling and aligning tasks
- Apply low force leveling and aligning techniques for patient comfort
- Identify landmarks and apply diagnostic principles of cephalometric measurements
- Understand the function of removable and fixed appliances to address Class II, Class III, deep bite and open bite cases using AP, vertical and transverse correctors
- Initiate orthodontic treatment in Class I crowding, cases in orthosis, Class II crowding and adjunctive treatments
- Determine when leveling and aligning is complete
- Understand the importance of detailing in straight wire appliance therapy
- Manage orthodontic cases from start to finish
- How to identify landmarks and apply diagnostic principles of cephalometric measurements
- How to correctly place the arch of brackets for effective fixed therapy and mechanics
- How to recognize indications and contraindications for arch wires and systems
- How to select arch forms to treat within the neutral zone
- How to choose wires for the indicated task
- The difference between wire progression and choosing the wire as needed
- How to level and align using low force for patient comfort
- How to reposition brackets
- Why detailing is important in straight wire appliance therapy
- How to start a patient and properly place brackets on Class I and Class II crowded patients
- How to use the Nola appliance
- How to directly and indirectly place brackets
- How to integrate an orthosis into orthodontic treatment
- Orthodontics from start to finish
A self assessment examination will be given for each level of learning.
About Your Teacher
Clayton A. Chan, D.D.S. — Founder and Director, Occlusion Connections | The Center for Gneuromuscular Dentistry & Orthopedic Advancement
Dr. Clayton A. Chan brings a perspective to orthodontics and orthopedics that no conventional orthodontic educator can offer — because his foundation is not orthodontics alone. It is the complete GNM framework — the integration of gnathologic occlusal principles, objective K7 measurement and neuromuscular science — applied to orthopedic diagnosis and treatment from the ground up.
In Ortho 2 Dr. Chan teaches what most orthodontic programs never address — how to transition a GNM stabilized patient from the removable orthotic into fixed bracket and wire mechanics while maintaining the optimized physiologic myo-trajectory established in Phase 1. This verticalization process — guided by the craniofacial growth and development principles of Enlow and Hans — is the clinical bridge between occlusal stability and long term orthopedic correction.
His Ortho 2 course manual is a comprehensive clinical reference that students return to throughout their orthodontic practice — covering bracket placement, wire mechanics, appliance selection and orthopedic verticalization protocols with the clarity and precision that only decades of measured clinical experience can produce.
More About Dr. Chan →
"Just returned from taking Ortho 1 & 2 and I'll tell you I feel very confident that I can do quality orthodontic cases. Before coming out to the courses I felt intimidated to even begin this branch of dentistry. I had a little bit of ortho in dental school and did 1 case, but I am really new to all of this. Clayton made the courses easy to understand and I now feel extremely confident that I can do this. It is a lot easier than I thought. I thank God that I went for it and now have another way to do phase 2. I can think of a lot of previous cases that could have greatly benefited if I would have known ortho a long time ago. Thank you Clayton and Jane for a great week." - Shane A. Nelson, D.D.S., Overland Park, Kansas
- Dr. Hamid Nassery, DMD, FICOI - Miami Beach, Florida
6170 W. Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas, Nevada 89146 | Telephone: (702) 271-2950
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