The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a bilateral mandibular osteotomy, including loss of teeth and secondary surgical scars. The issue of aggravation of malocclusion was also addressed but not specified in the decision.
The deciding factor: The appeal was denied as there was no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for service connection for residuals of a bilateral mandibular osteotomy.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of bilateral mandibular osteotomy, loss of all teeth, secondary surgical scars, aggravation of malocclusion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 30, 2004
- Citation
- 0417636
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,419 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0417636.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's loss of all teeth can be restored by a suitable prosthesis, thus not meeting the criteria for a compensable rating.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to additional VA treatment records being added to the claims file since the last Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC). The Veteran was asked if he wished to waive AOJ review, but no response was received. As such, the appeal is now with the AOJ for initial consideration.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, as they significantly restrict his movements, impair his ability to focus on work tasks, and cause frequent bathroom breaks.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's partial loss of tongue and loss of all teeth have been granted initial ratings of 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
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