SURVEYOR

&
SURVEYING

R.Arthi
PG I st year
CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION
• HISTORY
• AIMS & OBJECTIVE
• TYPES
• PARTS OF SURVEYOR
• SIGNIFICANCE OF SURVEY LINE
• SURVEY PROCESS
• RECENT ADVANCES
• REFERENCE
INTRODUCTION :
RATIONALE

• Plan
• Executed Tooth Prep
• To Prevent RPD Failure

Davenport JC, Basker RM, Heath JR, Ralph JP, Glantz PO. Surveying. British dental journal. 2000 ;189(10):532-42.
 HISTORY

• Dr. W. M. Randall’s technique

• visual survey of dental casts.
• holding a cast at arms length while viewing it
with one eye closed.
• other hand to hold a sharp pencil  ⊥ to the
occlusal plane, the practitioner would pass a
pencil lead over the axial surfaces of the
teeth to develop a survey line at the greatest
diameter of each tooth

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
• . Robinson surveyor is the first surveyor
 The Chayes Parallelometer

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
Dr. A. S. Condit’s system for anchoring removable partial
dentures by means of tube attachments. ? adjustable cast holder – CONVERTED TO DENTAL
SURVEYOR

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
 • 1918- Dr.A.J.FORTUNATI is thought to be the 1 st person to employ a mechanical
device to determine the relative parellelism of tooth surface. 
• charting correct clasp placement by using a parallelometer with graphite rod
• kennedy- height of contour ( coin)

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
 NEY SURVEYORS WITH MODIFICATIONS

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
 WILLS SURVEYOR – JELENKO CO

Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002 Mar;11(1):11-8. 
 The Roach surveyor, 1944 • Retentoscope
• Williams surveyor
• Ticonium surveyor
• Microanalyser

Engelmeier R. L. The history and development of Dental Surveyor:Part – II. J Prosthodont 2002;11:122- 130
 • Broken arm surveyors.- Most significant modification- addition of hinge - allowed milling
machine to be attached.
• In 1950, Mc Call and Hugel -11 dental surveyor -scientific exhibits at the ADA 1948 Annual
Meeting.

Engelmeier R. L. The history and development of Dental Surveyor:Part – II. J Prosthodont 2002;11:122- 130
• .Determine the most advantageous path of insertion/ removal for the RPD.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Locate proximal tooth surfaces that are or can be made parallel to act as guiding surfaces.

2. Locate and measure recesses or undercuts for mechanical retention.

3. Identify areas of potential hard or soft tissue interferences.

4. Determine a path of insertion/ dislodgement consistent with esthetic requirements.

5.  Dilineate the height of contour of the abutment teeth and identify the areas of undercut that must be avoided, reduced,

blocked out or preserved.

6. Help in planning restorative procedures .

7. Record the most ideal cast position for future reference.

8. Establish a formal plan for RPD design and the required mouth preparation.
• Hanson et al . JADA 1975;91:826.
• to establish a position that will facilitate control by transferring stress through the
components of the RPD to the long axes of the abutment teeth and the primary
supporting area of the residual ridges.
 TYPES OF DENTAL SURVEYOR

• Mechanical
• Electronic – with milling machine
• Paratherm Surveyor
• Austened Surveyor
NEY SURVEYOR
 DEFINITION(GPT 9)

• SURVEY:-the procedure of locating and delineating the contour and position of the abutment teeth and
associated structures before designing a removable partial denture.

• SURVEYING:-An analysis and comparison of the prominence of intraoral contours associated with the
fabrication of prosthesis.

• SURVEYOR-”An instrument used in the construction of a removable partial denture

• Survey line:-a line produced on a cast by surveyor by marking at the greatest prominence of contour
in relation to the planned path of insertion.

•  
• GUIDING-PLANES:-Vertically parallel surfaces on abutment teeth oriented so as to contribute to the
direction of path of placement and removal of partial denture

• PATH OF INSERTION-”The direction in which a prosthesis is placed upon and removed from
the abutment teeth”-GPT 8
 PARTS OF THE SURVEYOR:

1. Platform on which the base is moved.

2. A vertical arm that supports the superstructure.

3. Horizontal arm.

4. Surveying arm (can be moved in vertical direction).

5. Cast holder (surveying table).

6. Mandrel.

7. Analysing rod or paralleling tool.

 TOOLS OF A SURVEYOR:

• An analyzing rod or paralleling tool. This tool contacts the convex surface of the object being studied in
the same way a tangent contacts a curve. In this way, the parallelism of one surface to another may be
determined.

• Undercut gauges: These gauges are used to identify the specific amount and location of desired
retentive undercut on the surface of the abutment tooth.

• Wax knife: This instrument is used in late stages of removable partial denture construction to eliminate
or block out areas of undesirable undercuts with wax on the cast before the framework is made.

• Carbon marker: The marker may be used to scribe the survey line and to delineate an undercut area of
the soft tissue or ridge
• Carbon marker – To scribe the survey line and to delineate an undercut area of the soft
blockout when some non parallelism is desired.
• Wax knife used in late stages of RPD construction to eliminate or blockout areas of
undesirable undercuts with wax on the cast before the framework is made.
PRINCIPLES
SURVEY PROCESS
 RECENT ADVANCES

• OPTICAL SURVEYORS:
Yilmaz G in 1976 presented optical surveying of cast of removable partial dentures and
concluded that optical and conventional surveyors are based on the same principles. The
cast is illuminated by parallel light beams, which are also parallel to the marker rod. The
border of light and dark zones indicate the survey line.

• INTRAORAL SURVEYORS
 REFERENCES

• Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor: part I. J Prosthodont. 2002
Mar;11(1):11-8. 

• Engelmeier RL.The history and development of the dental surveyor: part II. J Prosthodont. 2002
Jun;11(2):122-30. 

• Engelmeier RL. The history and development of the dental surveyor--Part III. J Prosthodont.
2004 Sep;13(3):195-202. 
• Textbook of clinical removable partial prosthodontics by Stewart, Rudd, Kuebker 2
edition.
• Mc Cracken’s removable partial prosthodontics, ninth edition.
• Yilmaz. G Optical surveying of casts for removable partial dentures J. Prosthet
Dent.1975; 34:292-296.