Heba B.

Sweileh
16
Roqaya Saad

L Motasum Abu-Awwad
 Surveying
The procedure of analyzing and delineating the contours
of the abutment (hard tissue) and associated structures
(soft tissues) to determine the undercuts areas before
designing an RPD.
Dental Surveyor: a mechanical device used to
determine the relative parallelism of the teeth surfaces
and the undercuts areas in relation to the common path of
insertion and removal of the denture.
✓ It was first introduced to the dental profession in 1918 by Dr
A.J.Fortunati.
✓ One of the cornerstones of effective RPD design and construction.
We can’t do a proper cobalt-chrome RPD without the dental
surveyor.
✓ It allows a vertical arm to be brought into contact with the teeth
and ridges of the dental cast, thus identifying parallel surfaces and
points of maximum contour.
✓ The occlusal plane is perpendicular to the surveyor. The graphite
marker will highlight the height of contour of teeth, anything
underneath the survey line is considered as undercut area.
✓ As we said before about the common path of displacement, the
denture moves perpendicular to the occlusal table due to sticky
foodstuff. The surveyor act perpendicular to the occlusal table to
prevent displacement of the denture.
Components of dental surveyor:
1. Base
2. Vertical arm
3. Horizontal arm
4. Mandrel
5. Adjustable table
6. Accessories
o Analyzing rod
o Carbon or graphite marker
o Wax trimmer
o Undercut gauge
- 0.25mm or 0.010 inch
- 0.50mm or 0.020 inch
- 0.75mm or 0.030 inch
Surveying:
Ideally the clinician, rather than the dental technician, surveys the study
cast in preparation for designing an RPD. As a dentist, It’s your
responsibility to analyze the cast so that the technician designs it.
Both acrylic and metallic RPD, before designing the primary casts,
should be surveyed because both of them contain clasps that should be
engaged to the undercut area.
The most widely used Surveyors are:

Williams Ney Jelenko

Williams is considered the most favorable because you can move the
vertical and the horizontal arm. The other two types require moving the
adjustable table and the arm movement are limited to vertical only (more
difficult to use).

Different types of Surveyors Parallelometers

The digital surveyors are more expensive and provide the same results as
the manual surveyors with no special properties. They scan the cast
digitally and analyze the undercuts on a software, but before you start
using the digital one, you should learn how to survey manually.

Dental Surveyors Accessories:

1. Analyzing Rod
This metal rod is placed against the teeth and
ridges during the initial analysis of the cast to
identify undercut area and to determine the
parallelism of the surfaces without marking the
cast. It’s used as a practice and to analyze the cast
before using the graphite marker to draw the
survey line .
 2. Graphite Marker
The graphite marker is moved around the tooth and
along the alveolar ridge to identify and mark the
position of maximum convexity (survey-line) separating
non-undercut from undercut areas.
The carbon marker should be sharpened (beveled) with a small tip so it
can move freely between the teeth. The beveled side should be opposite
to the tooth.
When surveying a tooth, the tip of the marker should be in the same
level as the gingival margin, allowing the side of the marker to produce
the survey line as shown in the illustration. The anterior teeth are
proclined, the tip of the marker won’t touch the gum but the side should
touch the teeth.
Survey Line: lines drown around the most bulbuls’ part of the tooth
(buccal) in relation to the common path of insertion and displacement.
➢ A false survey line will be produced if the tip of the
marker is incorrectly positioned.
➢ In this example there’s no undercuts area on the
tooth although an incorrect surveying technique has
indicated one.
➢ If this false line is used in designing the RPD, errors
will arise in the positioning of the components,
especially clasps.
Undercuts: the part of a tooth which lies between the survey line and
gingiva.
▪ Hard tissues undercut “teeth”
▪ Soft tissues undercuts
▪ True and false undercuts
 This is a holder for the graphite
marker to prevent breaking it
when applying pressure against
the cast. >>
<< In the other picture, the
triangle between the cast teeth
and the marker is the undercut area.

3. Undercut Gauge
➢ Gauges are provided to measure the extent of horizontal undercut and
are available in the following sizes: 0.25mm (01)/ 0.50mm (02)/
0.75mm (03).
➢ By adjusting the vertical position of the gauge until the shank and
head contact the cast simultaneously, the point at which a specific
extent of horizontal undercut occurs can be identified and marked.
➢ This procedure allows correct positioning of retentive clasp arm on
the tooth surface.
The clasp should engage
a specific undercut level.
The deeper you’re to the
gum, the deeper the
undercut. The closer
you’re to the line, the
shallower the undercut.

The retention depends on the depth of the undercut that you engage and
the clasp material that’s used. deeper undercut enhances the retention;
flexible clasps is better to use size 0.03 inch closer to the gum. If the
clasp is rigid, you can’t engage deeper because it may break with high
retention or cause deformation.
If you want to engage a
0.01 to the tooth, both head
and the shank of the tool
should touch the side of the
tooth. The point where the
head touches the tooth is 0.01inch undercut. If you go deeper with 0.01
gauge, either the head or the shank won’t touch the tooth. This is how
we determine it using the gauge.
The level of the undercut is determined according to the level of
retention needed and clasp design and material. Each clasp type engages
at a specific point in the undercut area.
Other, more sophisticated, types of
undercut gauge are available such as
dial gauges and electronic gauges.
These attachments fulfil the same
function as the simpler types of gauges.

4. Trimming knife
This instrument is used to eliminate unwanted
undercuts on the master cast. Wax is added to
these unwanted undercuts areas and the excess
is removed with the trimmer so that the
modified surfaces are parallel to the chosen
path of insertion.
In Denture flasking, the acrylic will engage to these
unwanted undercut, we should block them with wax
so it can be easily inserted in the patient mouth. We
use the trimming knife to trim the excess wax parallel
to the surveyor, to precisely block the undercut areas.
(thinning the bulgy wax, no more & no less)
 A) This RPD cannot be inserted in the mouth because failure to
eliminate unwanted undercut on the cast has resulted in acrylic
resin being processed into the area.
B) This denture has been processed on a correctly prepared cast and
as a result, there is no interference with insertion

Objective of Surveying:
✓ The main aim of surveying an RPD to ensure that no rigid portion
of the denture should lie in the undercut in relation to the common
path of insertion and removal.
✓ While the flexible part of the RPD (clasp) must
engage the undercut in relation to all possible
paths of insertion and displacement, since they’re
responsible for the retention of the RPD.
✓ To mark the most bulbous parts of the teeth,
where the terminal or flexible part of the clasp
should engage.
✓ To identify undercut areas on the teeth and alveolar ridge relative
to any given path of insertion, removal, and displacement of the
RPD.
✓ To help in designing the exact position of the clasp.
✓ To block out the unwanted undercuts on the cast before fabricating
the duplicating cast.
Objective of Surveying: cont.
✓ It helps to measure the depth of the undercuts, therefore, decide
which type of metal could be used regarding the clasps.
✓ To identify the proximal tooth surfaces that may serve as guiding
planes.
✓ To identify soft tissue undercuts that would act as interference.

Surveying Procedure:
Before discussing the function of a surveyor in more detail it’s necessary
to explain the following terms:
1. Guide surface: two or more parallel axial
surfaces on abutment teeth which can be used to
limit the path of insertion and improve the
stability and retention of a removable prosthesis.
✓ Guide surfaces may occur naturally on teeth but
more commonly need to be prepared.

2. Path of insertion & path of withdrawal

All possible paths along where a RPD can be inserted and removed from
the mouth
OR the path followed by the denture from its first contact with the teeth
until it’s fully seated.
Single Path of Insertion may be created if
sufficient guide surfaces are contacted by the
denture; it’s most likely to exist when bounded
edentulous area are present.
Multiple Path of Insertion will exist where point
contacts between the saddle of the denture and the
abutment of the teeth are employed in the “closed”
design of saddle
✓ no parallelism = divergent
✓ Path of removal is the opposite of path of insertion
✓ Single path of insertion is more stable than multiple path of insertion
As you can see in the picture, there’s only a contact
point (not a guiding plane), you can use a bur to make
two guiding planes parallel to each other.
Also, there’s a big undercut area that’s left unengaged.
This is called “open” design of saddle, because of the
free triangle (undercut) between the teeth that may cause plaque
accumulation but allows saliva to pass through and clean the area.
3. Path of common displacement
The path along where a RPD is most likely to be displaced (dislodged)
during function.
▪ The path is at right angle 90o to the occlusal plane (imaginary line
connecting between the incisal edge of anterior teeth & the cusps of
posterior teeth )
▪ Displacing forces are generated as a direct effect
of consumed sticky foodstuff.
▪ Magnitude of displacing forces vary according to
the type of the consumed sticky foodstuff.
▪ Displacing forces will dislodge the denture if
their magnitude becomes greater than the
retention force obtained by the various
components of the RPD retentive elements.
▪ Free end saddle is less retentive because
there’s no teeth in the back to support it.
 Surveying the Diagnostic cast:
➢ Cast should be oriented onto the table of the surveyor at zero tilt .
➢ Zero tilt is the tilt of the cast when the occlusal plane assumes
parallelism with the horizontal plane.
The most important area to identify the undercuts is the area related to
path of common displacement. The occlusal plane of the cast should be
perpendicular to the surveyor. If you survey in this case, it’ll give
undercuts that’s not related to displacement and won’t help in retention.
(A) Although it’s a bit tilited, it doesn’t matter (A)
as long as the occlusal plane is prependicular to
the surveyor. The table of the surveyor should
not neccessrily be prependicular , the most
important is the occlusal plane to be at 90o
degree.
(B)This tilt in the table simulates the situation in the mouth as it’s
slightly tilited.
The undercut differs depending on the perspective that’s seen from; if
you’re looking at the tooth from above, you’ll see
the undercut below the height of contour. If you
view the tooth from the proximal side, you’ll (B)
notice a different undercut. You should engage the
right undercuts that will prevent dislodgment.
After surveying at the zero
tilt, you will survey at the
2nd tilt (alternative), this
will help increase retention
especially in kennedy class
I & II (free-end saddle).
When we survey with anterior tilt (heels up) and prepare the guiding
planes on this tilt, we will provide a path of insertion (1) that’s slightly
tilted than common path of displacement (2) which is fixed
prependicular.
If the common path of insertion was same as common
path of displacement, the RPD will dislodge once the
patient start to eat. Surveying with a different tilt
helps us to make different guiding planes for both
insertion and displacement and increase retention and
stability.
The patient insert the denture at path (1) and the displacement may occur
at path (2) but we engage an undercut relative to path (2) which will
provide us with extra source of retention from the tooth itself without the
need of a clasp.
‫همم حترضوا احملارضة لتفهموا اكرت‬

The End