There are several types of surveyors used in dentistry. The main types include the Ney surveyor, Jelenko surveyor, Williams surveyor, retentoscope, stress-o-graph, Ticonium, broken arm cast surveyor, electrical/computerized surveyors, optical surveyor, intra-oral surveyors, and parallelometers. Each type has slightly different features but they all serve to locate and delineate the contours and positions of teeth and structures for designing removable partial dentures. The Ney surveyor was the first commercially available type while newer computerized and electrical versions provide advanced digital capabilities.