TOPICS OF INTEREST

The History and Development of the Dental

Surveyor: Part II
Robert L. Engelmeier, DMD, MS

Part II of this series on the history and development of the dental surveyor reviews ways in which
the basic dental surveyor has been modified to improve its accuracy and versatility.
J Prosthodont 2002;11:122-130. Copyright © 2002 by The American College of Prosthodontists.

INDEX WORDS: surveyor, dental surveyor, paralleling instrument, clasp surveying instrument,
block-out instrument

P ART I of this article described the development

of modern dental surveyors. It presented illus-
trations of basic surveying instruments from the
time of the first surveyor through the end of the
20th century,1,2 along with paralleling instruments
that predated conventional dental surveyors and
were used in early precision attachment tech-
niques. These early paralleling instruments dem-
onstrate the fundamental importance of paral-
lelism in the fabrication of passive dental
restorations.3 In addition, Part I defined the basic
features of a dental surveyor and described its
common uses.4-6
Part II reviews the ways in which the basic dental
surveyor was redesigned and accessorized to im-
prove its accuracy and versatility. Improvements
to the basic dental surveyor included the addition
of a small light to better illuminate the cast and
surveying tools and multiple surveying arms to
save time when changing surveying tools. Also
added were easy-to-read dial undercut gauges,
handpieces for accurately preparing guiding planes,
and electrical components to heat the blockout
waxing tools.7,8 Highly modified surveyors are illus-
trated in Figure 1.
From the Department of Prosthodontics, The University of Texas-
Houston Health Science Center Dental Branch, Houston, TX.
Accepted November 7, 2001.
Correspondence to: Robert L. Engelmeier, DMD, MS, Director, Grad-
uate Prosthodontic Program, Department of Prosthodontics, The University
of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Dental Branch, 6516 M.D.
Anderson Boulevard, PO Box 20068, Houston, TX 77225. E-mail:
rengelme@mail.db.uth.tmc.edu.
Copyright © 2002 by The American College of Prosthodontists
1059-941X/02/1102-0010$35.00/0
doi:10.1053/jpro.2002.124355
Broken-Arm Surveyors
Of all the modifications that have been made to the
basic dental surveyor, perhaps the most significant
was the addition of a “broken,” or hinged, horizon-
tal arm. The broken arm not only facilitated sur-
veying, but also allowed the surveyor to function as
a milling machine through the adaptation of a
straight handpiece to the surveying arm (Figs
2- 5).6,9-19
Blockout Instruments
The dental surveyor has proven indispensable dur-
ing the laboratory task of blocking out undercuts on
a master cast before fabrication of a removable
partial denture framework. Using a pendulum sur-
veyor was a novel approach to this process.9 This
device had a surveying arm at least 3 feet long that
could pivot at some predetermined point well above
the cast holder (Fig 6).20 Hence the operator could
move the surveying arm laterally, heat the attached
waxing instrument in an open flame, and then
return the apparatus to the master cast. At this
stage, the heated waxing instrument could be used
to shape and trim the blockout wax. Because the
angle of the blockout was inversely proportional to
the length of the surveying arm, the degree of
blockout could be controlled by adjusting the arm
length. Some surveyors of this type allowed the
arms to reach from the laboratory bench to the
ceiling.9
Electrically heated blockout instruments have
been in widespread use for more than 40 years.7,21
Examples of such dental surveyors are shown in
Figure 7.

122 Journal of Prosthodontics, Vol 11, No 2 ( June), 2002: pp 122-130

 June 2002, Volume 11, Number 2 123

Figure 1. (A) The Retentoscope, a nicely made surveying instrument produced by the Saddle-Lock Company. A
rotating head supports 3 horizontal arms, 1 of which was a conventional surveying arm. A second arm supports a
handpiece for milling, and the third supports a dial undercut gauge. A work light is attached to the vertical arm. The
table, rather than the surveying arm, can be raised and lowered during surveying. (Reprinted with permission.7) (B) The
Stressograph, produced by the Ticonium Company, features 2 horizontal arm assemblies. The first arm is designed to
be a conventional surveying arm, and the second arm supports a dial gauge to measure undercuts. (Reprinted with
permission.8)

Figure 2. (A) This attachment to the original Ney surveyor essentially converts it into a broken-arm surveyor.
(Reprinted with permission.9) (B) Note the adjustable cast holder in this early broken-arm surveyor from England
(unknown manufacturer). (C) The Torit broken-arm dental surveyor.
Figure 3. (A) The Harvey surveyor, manufactured by the MD Chemical Company, Gardena, CA. (Courtesy of Dr.
Gene Stevenson.) (B) The Lentz broken-arm dental surveyor. (C) The Hagman Balancer surveyor, a broken-arm
attachment that cleverly converts the Hagman Balancer articulator (both the junior and senior models) into a dental
surveyor. (D) The Victor Stoll dental surveyor and coordinator (U.S. Patent 23,498), another dental articulator with a
surveying arm attachment. This ingenious and versatile instrument was designed in 1947.
Figure 4. (A) The Williams Gold Refining Company broken-arm surveyor, featuring the gimbal stage table, adjustable
to any tilt in any direction. The instrument has a spring-loaded surveying arm. A straight handpiece could easily be
clamped to the surveying arm. (Reprinted from McGivney et al.6) (B) The U.S. Patent Office drawing for a dental
surveyor designed by Ringle, Hiatt, and Smith in 1945. This was the first generation of surveyors marketed by the
Williams Gold Refining Company. The adjustable surveying stage is particularly interesting. (C) The Nesor broken-arm
dental surveyor. (Reprinted from Dates.17)

Figure 5. (A) The Ticonium Company currently offers this broken-arm dental surveyor with a spring-loaded surveying
arm. They previously offered the same surveyor with a one-piece horizontal arm. (Reprinted with permission.18) (B) The
Bego Paraflex surveyor has a solid horizontal arm and a “parameter” dial undercut depth gauge. (Reprinted with
permission.19)
Figure 6. (A) Austenal currently offers this blockout surveyor with a 42-inch-long surveying arm. (Reprinted with
permission.20) (B) The Austenal Surveyor includes an electrically heated waxing tool. (Reprinted with permission.20)

Figure 7. (A) The Austenal Micro Analyzer measures

undercuts electronically. A dial indicator shows the desired
amount of undercut, and a flashing light signals when the
exact undercut is reached. The Austenal Flexseal pre-
formed clasp patterns are used as a standard of measure-
ment. (Reprinted with permission.7) (B) The Paratherm
surveying and blockout waxing instrument heats its waxing
tools electrically. The surveying arms move in 3 axes.
Paratherm also offers the Paraline, a nonelectrical sur-
veyor based on the Paratherm design. (Reprinted with
permission.21)
 June 2002, Volume 11, Number 2 127

Figure 8. (A) The Chayes milling machine, an early example of this class of instruments. (B) The Austenal precision
milling machine. (Reprinted with permission.20) (C) The Galloni Isoparallelometer with a cross-table, a finely made
precision milling machine. (Reprinted with permission.22) (D) The Kavo precision dental milling machine. (Courtesy of
Edgar N. Starcke, DDS.)
Figure 9. Some European precision dental milling instruments. (Reprinted with permission.22) (A) The Frey milling
and paralleling drilling machine from Seitz and Haag with a magnetic table. (B) The Bachman parallelometer
swingable/movable magnetic table. (C) The Fäh parallelometer with cross-table. (D) The Albrecht Linear Motor Milling
Machine with built-in motor and cross-table.
 June 2002, Volume 11, Number 2 129

Figure 10. (A) A prototype surveyor made by Intra-Tek, Dallas, TX. A beam of laser light projects vertically downward
from the distal end of the horizontal arm to serve as the surveying arm. Although this instrument does not produce a
visible “survey line” at the height of contour of the teeth, it does dramatically expose undercut areas. (Courtesy of Dr.
Mark Connelly.) (B) The laser light is visible only above the height of the contour, whereas the undercut below the
height of the contour is cast in a dark shadow.

Milling Machines References

Other dental surveyors have been developed to
function as milling machines or drill presses.9,10,22
Developed for precision attachment applica-
tions, these instruments ensure the parallelism
of guiding planes milled into castings (Figs 8
and 9).
Recent Innovations
A recently designed surveyor dramatically exposes
undercut areas by projecting a beam of laser light
(Fig 10).
Discussion
A relatively recent development in dental instru-
mentation, dental surveyors have rapidly evolved
into user-friendly and accurate instruments. Some
surveyors are relatively simple, while others are
highly sophisticated laboratory tools with very spe-
cific uses.
Although the evolution of the dental surveyor
has slowed in recent years, clearly its place in
dentistry is assured. The basic process of surveying
the dental cast is by far the fastest and most accu-
rate method for identifying hard and soft tissue
undercuts and ensuring the parallelism of the axial
surfaces of abutment teeth to be used as guiding
planes.
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130 History and Development of the Dental Surveyor—Part II ● Engelmeier

15. Stoll V: Dental Surveyor and Coordinator. U.S. Patent No.
23,498, May 20, 1952
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ment. U.S. Patent No. 2,376,384, May 22, 1945
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dustries, Charlotte, NC 1988.
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p5
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(CIS). Chicago, IL, Quintessence, 1972, pp 70-71