Surveyor & Parts of

surveyor
 Surveyor:-A paralleling instrument used in
construction of a dental prosthesis to locate
and delineate the contours and relate positions
of abutment teeth and associated structures
(GPT-8)
 Surveying: an analysis and comparison of the
prominence of intra oral contours associated
with the fabrication of the prosthesis
 HISTORY
 Dr A .J . Fortunati in 1918
 Ney surveyor in 1923
 Wills surveyor by jelenko
 Ney Surveyor
 In the Ney Surveyor, the vertical arm is
retained by friction with in a fixed bearing.
 Wills Surveyor
 In Jelenko/wills surveyor the vertical arm is
spring mounted & returns to top position when
it is released.
 In the Wills Surveyor, the horizontal arm is
capable of revolving horizontally around the
vertical column
Wills Surveyor
PARTS OF A SURVEYOR

Surveying arm

Horizontal arm
Mandrel

Vertical arm

Cast Holder

Level platform
Level platform
Cast Holder
Vertical arm
Horizontal arm
Surveying arm
 Surveying tools
 Analysing rod
 Carbon marker
 Undercut gauges
 Wax trimmer
 Tapering tool
 Handpiece attachment
 Analyzing rod

Undercut gauges

Carbon marker

Wax trimmer & tapering tool

Analyzing rod
Analyzing
rod
Carbon marker
 Undercut Gauges

Ney undercut gauges Jelenko undercut gauge

Locating and marking measured
undercuts
Undercut
gauge
 Wax trimmer

Contouring block out wax Carving wax pattern

Tapering tool
 Other special tools:
Hand piece attachment:
 Purposes of Surveyor
Surveying the diagnostic cast
 To determine the most desirable path of placement
that will eliminate or minimize the interference to
placement and removal.
 To identify proximal tooth surface that are or need
to be made parallel so that they act as guiding
planes during placement and removal
 To locate and measure undercut areas of the teeth
that may be used for retention.
 To determine whether tooth and bony areas of
interference will need to be surgically altered or by
selecting a different path of placement.
 To determine the most suitable path of placement that
will permit locating retainers and artificial teeth to the
best esthetic advantage
 History

Visual survey of dental casts

Dr W.M. Randalls
technique(1890)
 Dr Chayes parellellometer

At a clinic in Boston (1918), Fortunati replaced the steel

analysing rod of a bridge parellellometer with a graphite rod
 Ney surveyor-1923

A. 1923 Weinstein and Roth developed the first

commercially available surveyor-
B. Model of Ney surveyor introduced in 1937
C. Mid 1960 modification facilitated surveying and
milling
Wills surveyor-1929 (with and without
a work light )
Wills surveyor-1937
 Kings college surveyor
(1940)Adjustable cast holder

Parallel, pivoting and horizontal arms

Powerful magnet at tilting table
Roach surveyor (1944)--The smallest
surveyor ever developed
Electronic surveyor 1958
Surveyors with multiple surveying
arms

Stressograph Roentoscope
 Broken arm surveyor

Torit broken arm dental surveyor Lentz broken arm surveyor

Williams gold refining dental surveyor Nesor surveyor (1978)
Ticonium company surveyor (1988)Bego parallex surveyor (1998)
PARTS OF A SURVEYOR

Surveying arm

Horizontal arm
Mandrel

Vertical arm

Cast Holder

Level platform
Various tools used :

Analyzing
rod
Carbon marker

False survey line

produced by marker tip
 Undercut Guages

Ney undercut gages Jalenko undercut gage

Undercut
gauge
 Wax trimmer

Contouring block out wax Carving wax pattern

 Other special tools:
Hand piece attachment:
 In the Ney Surveyor, the vertical arm is
retained by friction with in a fixed bearing.
 In Jelenko/wills surveyor the vertical arm is
spring mounted & returns to top position when
it is released.
 In the Wills Surveyor, the horizontal arm is
capable of revolving horizontally around the
vertical column
 SURVEYLINE / BREADTH OF CONTOUR
LINE (HEIGHEST PYRAMID OF THE
TOOTH)
 David .m.watt “The survey line is a line drawn around
the greatest girth of a tooth in relation to the common
path of displacement or to the path of insertion and
removal of the denture.”
A line produced on a cast by a surveyor marking the greatest
prominence of contour in relation to the planned path of placement
of a restoration (G.P.T-8)
 BLATTERFEIN’S CLASSIFICATION OF
SURVEY LINES:

TYPES OF SURVEY LINE

1. Medium survey line
2. Diagonal survey line
3. High survey line SADDLE
AREA

4. Low survey line

SUPRABULG
NEA E
R
FAR
ZON ZONE
E

INFRABULGE
CONTIGUOU
S
TOOTH
Medium survey line
 DIAGONAL SURVEY LINE

commonly found on the buccal

surfaces of canines and premolars.

OCCLUSALLY APPROACHING CLASP GINGIVALLY APPROACHING CLASP

 HIGH SURVEY LINE

wrought wire

OCCLUSALLY APPROACHING ARM

 LOW SURVEY LINE

DISADVANTAGES

•Tissue will be traumatized as the ridge is resorbed and the

saddle sinks.
 On a tooth surface
with a low survey line
3 types of bracing
arms can be used :
1. Reverse back action

2. Ring clasp
3. Extended clasp arm
Orientation of the cast
 Tilting

Anterio-posterior tilting Lateral tilting

anterior tilt ( the anterior posterior tilt (the posterior
teeth are tilted downward) portion is tilted downward
 Purposes of Surveyor
Surveying the diagnostic cast
 To determine the most desirable path of placement
that will eliminate or minimize the interference to
placement and removal.
 To identify proximal tooth surface that are or need
to be made parallel so that they act as guiding
planes during placement and removal
 To locate and measure areas of the teeth that may
be used for retention.
 To determine whether tooth and bony areas of
interference will need to be surgically altered or by
selecting a different path of placement.
 To determine the most suitable path of placement that
will permit locating retainers and artificial teeth to the
best esthetic advantage
 To permit an accurate charting of the mouth
preparation to be made.
 To delineate the height of contour on abutment teeth
and to locate areas of undesirable tooth undercut that
are to be avoided, eliminated or blocked out.
 To record the cast position in relation to the selected
path of placement for future references.
 The surveyor is also used to scribe the survey line on
the teeth after the final tilt of the cast has been
determined
 CONTOURING WAX PATTERN

•Guiding planes parallel to the path of insertion of the prosthesis

may be prepared.

•The height of contour of the wax pattern may also be adjusted to the
most desirable position for placement of retention and reciprocal arms.
SURVEYING CERAMIC VENEER
CROWNS
 Ceramic veneer crowns
are often used to restore
abutment on which
extracoronal direct
retailers will be placed.
 The final glaze is
established only after
the crowns have been
recontoured.
 PLACEMENT OF
INTRACORONAL
RETAINERS
 PLACEMENT OF
INTERNAL REST
SEATS
 MACHINING CAST
RESTORATIONS
 Surveying the master cast
 To select the most suitable path of placement
by following mouth preparation
 To measure retentive areas & to identify the
location of clasp terminals, which depends on:-
 Alloy used for the clasp
 Design and type of clasp
 Whether round or ½ round
 Cast or wrought material
 Length of the clasp arm from its point of origin to
its terminal end
 To locate areas remaining of undesirable
undercut (must be eliminated by blockout)
 To trim block out material parallel to the
path of placement before duplication.
Placing survey lines
Locating and marking measured
undercuts
 PATH OF INSERTION
 The path followed by the denture from its first
contact with the teeth until it is fully seated.

Single Path of Insertion Rotational path of insertion

 Two Paths of
insertion
in Sectional denture-
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PATH
OF INSERTION
Guiding planes
 Guiding planes are described as two or more
vertically parallel surfaces of abutment teeth so
oriented as to direct the path of placement and
removal of removable partial denture
 The dominant influencing factor affecting the
paths of insertion is whether the edentulous
space is tooth bounded or a distal extension
type
 Tooth bounded - a single path of insertion
 Single distal extension type with tooth bounded
space on the opposite side of the arch, the path
of insertion will be determined by the
modification space.
 In class I partial dentures-Multiple paths of
insertion
 Functions
 Guiding planes provide considerable retention
to the partial denture
 they have horizontal bracing capabilities.
 minimizing deep undercut zones and possible
food traps
 improved esthetics
 providing reciprocity for retentive clasp arms.

(Guiding planes)- (No guiding planes)
single path of insertion Multiple Paths of insertion
 RETENTIVE UNDERCUTS
 An undercut is that area of a tooth or soft
tissue surface, which is beyond the survey
line when viewed from a particular direction
1. True undercuts are those in relation to the
common path of displacement and provide
resistance to removal of the denture along
this path.
2. False undercuts are those produced by
tilting the cast.
 INTERFERENCES

Interference during Insertion Interference

removed /eliminated
INTERFERENCES IN MANDIBLE

Mandibular torus

A. Relief space between the bar and the bone

The thickness of the lingual base may also be compromised, resulting
in a non-rigid connector that is damaging to the remaining teeth.
B. A labial bar major connector
 Lingual tipping of the teeth

A. A lateral tilt of the cast on the surveying table

B. Relieving the denture base, some resistance to lateral
movement of the prosthesis will be sacrificed.
INTERFERENCES IN MAXILLA
 Torus palatinus

Treatment- Proper designing

 Bony exostosis or
undercuts buccal to the
posterior edentulous
ridge
Buccally or facially tipped teeth
 ESTHETIC REQUIREMENTS
 Clasp placement- gingivally placed bar clasp
arms, tapered wrought wire retentive clasp arm
 The artificial teeth (ant) must be placed in the
most natural position possible.
 To avoid unnecessary display of metal the tilt
of the survey table should be such that the
survey lines on the teeth that will be visible be
close to the gingival margin.
 Anterior edentulous space

A Denture with Unsightly Gap Better esthetics with posterior

path of insertion
TRIPODING THE CAST
Tissue Surface Indexing
Art Portion Indexing
 BLOCK OUT

PARALLELED BLOCKOUT SITES

 Proximal tooth surfaces to be used as guiding
planes.
 Beneath all minor connectors.
 Tissue undercuts to be crossed by rigid
connectors and origin of bar clasps.
 Deep inter proximal spaces to be covered by
minor connectors or lingual plates
 SHAPED BLOCKOUT SITES
 Locate plastic or wax patterns on buccal and
lingual surfaces for clasp arms.
 Hard baseplate wax is used to do this type of
job.
 ARBITARY BLOCKOUT SITES
 All gingival crevices
 Gross tissue undercuts situated below areas
involved in design of denture framework.
 Tissue undercuts distal to cast framework.
 Labial and buccal tooth and tissue undercuts
not involved in denture design.
 Relief
 Beneath lingual bar
connectors or the bar portion
of the linguo plates when
indicated
 Areas in which major
connectors will contact the
thin soft tissues (maxillary
torus )
 Beneath frame work
extensions onto ridge areas
for attachment of resin bases
 Formula for blockout wax
 4 1/2 sheets baseplate wax
 4 1/2 sheets gutta percha
 4 sticks sticky wax
 1/2 teaspoon kaolin powder
 1/2 tube lipstick
 It is very important to use the
following sequence when mixing:
 melted gutta percha in a pasty consistency
 sticky wax
 kaolin
 baseplate wax
 Coloring (red lipstick or carpenter blue
chalk)
 OPTICAL SURVEYING
 Parallel light beams are used instead of the vertical
rod of the surveyor.
 Parallel light beams are produced by light bulbs with
small dense filaments and condenser lenses contained
in a box
 The beams are made parallel with the vertical rod of
the conventional surveyor, by fixing the box firmly to
an iron bar.
 The basic principles of the mechanical surveyor and
this instrument are alike, hence it is called as the
optical surveyor.
 The cast is placed on the movable table and
surveyed in a dark room using parallel light
beams
 The survey line is the border of the bright and
dark zones- the line where the light beams are
tangent to the cast and create a shadow.
 By tilting the table to establish the different
paths of insertion, undercuts and survey lines
may be inspected without drawing on the cast.
 After securing the most favorable path of
insertion for design of the R.P.D., the table of
the surveyor is fixed in position and the survey
lines are marked with the lead marker.
 Advantages of surveying with light
beams
 Changes of survey lines and undercuts can be
easily inspected for different positions of the
cast.
 Slight undercuts, which may not be
determined by the lead marker, can be
observed with optical surveying
 The many light beams provide an advantage
over the lead marker
 The Micro surveyor Compass
 The Micro surveyor Compass from Japan is a
small hand held surveyor.
 It establishes the path of insertion by tilting its
vertical arm rather than its cast holder.
 The Micro Surveyor collapses for handy
storage in a case that could fit into a lab coat
pocket.
 CONCLUSION
 Surveying play a vital role in designing and treatment
planning of R.P.D .Surveying aids in the decision
making regarding the determination of path of
insertion/ displacement, the selection of abutments,
location of clasp assemblies & the type of major
connector . The success of prosthodontic treatment is
heavily dependent on care with which this phase is
completed. Hence it becomes mandatory to know the
application and usage of surveyor to design a
biological restoration for the patients which will have
a long term success.
 Reference
 Ansari. I.H. aprocedure for reorienting a cast on
surveyor . J.P.D 1994 : 72: 104-107.
 Beezon O.L. et al, Surveying removable partial dentures,
the importance of guiding planners & path of incertion
for stability JPD 1997 : 78: 4: 412 – 418.
 Engelmeier R.L. The history and development of the
Dental Surveyor JPD, 2002, 11: 1:11 – 18.
 Ernest L Miller, Joseph E Grasso: R.P. Prsthodontics.
2nd edition, 1979.
 McCracken's Removable Partial Prosthodontics.
Eleventh edition 2005; Elsevier Publishers.
 Rudd and Morrow : Laboratory Procedures for
Removable partial Prosthodontics
 Stewart, Rudd, Kuebker: Clinical Partial
Prosthodontics. Second edition 2003; Ishiyaku
EuroAmerica, Inc. Publishers.
 Yil maz G. Optical surveying of casts for
removable partial dentures. JPD 1975: 34: 292 –
6. Zoeller G.N. Tishler P.H. Technique to
improve surveyign in confined areas. JPD 1995;
73:1:663-65.
 Stern W.J.Guiding planes in clasp reciprocation
and retention. JPD 1975; 36:4:408-414.
Thank U