I am contemplating getting a lower denture only and leaving all my top teeth in tact. Has anyone ever done this and is what is recovery time (i.e. when new dentures can be worn) Thanks!

It's generally not recommended to do just lowers, actually, in the 30+yrs I've been in the dental business I have never come across a client with their own upper teeth and a complete lower denture.

If there are any lower teeth that can be saved, you are better off to do that and get a partial denture on the bottom. Lower dentures are much more difficult to wear than uppers as there is no suction to hold them in.

Once teeth are removed the bone begins to resorb and you start to lose the boney ridge which in years to come will make it even more difficult to keep a lower denture in.

If you still want to have all your lower teeth removed, consider having a couple of implants placed to hold a lower denture in more securely.

Good luck.

Leave at least some teeth... canine to canine (I-tooth) at least , and get a lower partial.. why do you want to get the lowers extracted?

I have the same question as Amir, is there a particular reason you want to have your lower teeth removed? It's best if you can salvage any of the teeth to do so because it'll be easier to stabilize the denture. If you choose to have your teeth removed, you can get what's called an Immediate Denture which will be a temporary denture that you can wear for a couple months while your gums heal. The Immediate Denture will actually help the gums heal a little faster. Once the healing is complete, you'll need to go back and either have them replaced or relined. Relining is another temporary fix where a material is added to the denture to accommodate for the gum healing/shrinkage. So the healing is definitely a lengthy process, to say the least, but yes there will be something that you can wear right away.