Will remaining natural teeth have to be removed to get dentures?

There are different types of dentures, depending upon whether you have remaining teeth. Sometimes some of your teeth can be saved to preserve your jawbone and provide stability and support for the denture. An overdenture fits over a small number of remaining natural teeth after they have been prepared by your dentist. Implants can serve the same function, too. Conventional or immediate dentures are used when there are no remaining teeth, either from loss or extraction.

If you still have a few remaining natural teeth, you may not have to have them removed before getting dentures. In fact, many times dentists try to keep as many natural teeth as possible. If you still have most of your natural teeth, a dentist may recommend a partial denture. This type of denture attaches to existing natural teeth to fill in the spaces where a few teeth are missing.  If you only have a few natural teeth left, your dentist may recommend an overdenture, which is a complete denture that's made to fit over existing teeth. Your dentist will likely take out the nerve of the tooth (in a root canal procedure), then shorten and shape the tooth so it fits under the denture, and then fit it with a metal casting to attach to the denture. Talk to your dentist if you have questions about keeping your remaining natural teeth.