SURVEYING
(Part-1)
Specific learning objectives;
At the end of the class student should be able to;
 Define surveyor
 Understand surveying & its importance
 Know various terminologies related to surveying and
full procedure of the same.
Contents Definition
 Purpose
 Types
 Parts
 Survey lines
 References
Definition:
A dental surveyor has been defined as an
instrument used to determine the relative
parallelism of two or more surfaces of the teeth or
other parts of the cast of a dental arch.
1. Survey cast;
-Locates desirable andundesirable cast features
2. Block-out of cast ;
-Eliminates undesirable tooth and soft tissue undercuts
3. Shaping wax patterns/ milling castings ;
-Used to shape the axial surfaces of crown patterns for RPD abutment teeth
4. Positioning precision attachments for fixed and removable appliances
Types of surveyors
(The jointed horizontal arm of the Ney is fixe).
Surveying tools
A. Analyzing rod-used to check the presence or absence of undercuts.
B. Undercut gauges consists of a shaft and a lip
Used to locate and mark desirable undercut
 When the shaft and the lip contact the tooth simultaneously the desired
undercut is present in inches.010
.020
.030
C. Carbon [graphite] marker;
marks survey lines on tooth and soft tissue surfaces of the cast
•When surveying a tooth, the tip of the marker should be level with the
gingival margin allowing the side of the marker to produce the survey line.
A false survey line will be produced if the tip of the marker is incorrectly
positioned.
Types of survey line;
1. According to Kennedy: Height of contour.
2. According to Cummer: Guide lines.
3. According to Devan: -Supra bulge & Infra bulge
4. Other classification; -High, Low, Medium, Diagonal.
High
Diagonal
Medium
Low
Far Zone ( FZ) & Near Zone ( NZ) from edentulous area
D. Block out tools
Used to trim the block-out wax

Tapered

Parallel
The principal parts of the Jelenko surveyor are essentially the same as those for
the Ney surveyor except that by loosening the nut at the top of the vertical arm,
the horizontal arm may be made to swivel.
3.Williams surveyor
 The jointed horizontal arm of the Williams surveyor differs from both the
Ney and Jelenko surveyors.
 This feature permits the vertical arm to be moved to scribe the survey lines
without moving the cast.
5. The Skyscraper Surveyor
7. The Tech-5
 Text book of McCrackens- RPD; 11th edi.
 Text book of Dental lab procedures-RPD; RUDD & MORROW, 3rd edi.