The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for TMJ syndrome and granted it, finding that there is at least as likely as not a relationship between the Veteran's in-service injury and his current TMJ syndrome.
The deciding factor: The private dentist opinion supported by the Veteran’s father's testimony provided credible evidence linking the Veteran's TMJ syndrome to an in-service accident, meeting the threshold for reopening the claim and granting service connection on a direct basis.
- Claimed conditions
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2018
- Citation
- 18131094
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18131094.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess her service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show a current bilateral hearing loss disability as defined by VA regulatory criteria, and thus denied this claim. For the rating period from December 12, 2007, the Veteran is granted a 100 percent schedular rating for hypothyroidism due to service connection. The issue of entitlement to TDIU is moot given the grant of a 100 percent schedular rating for hypothyroidism. SMC at the housebound rate was awarded from October 24, 2008 to January 14, 2013.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including TMJ syndrome, right shoulder injury, headaches, CRPS, traumatic brain injury, a right thumb disorder, and Alzheimer's dementia were denied. The denial was based on the absence of evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the current severity of the service-connected conditions.
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