The Board denied the claim of service connection for dental trauma resulting in missing teeth or other dental disability, finding that replaceable missing teeth are not a compensable disability and thus cannot be granted service connection.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records show missing teeth during active service. However, as discussed below, those missing teeth were replaceable, thus the Veteran is precluded from entitlement to service connection for compensation purposes for such a condition.
- Claimed conditions
- missing teeth, periodontal disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2018
- Citation
- 18143368
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 18143368.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for missing teeth and remanded the claims for temporomandibular disorder, left knee disability, and back disability due to a need for additional evidence.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for periodontal disease and remanded the issue of a right knee disability for further development.
- Partly granted
The claim for service connection for a dental condition, to include periodontal disease, was reopened based on new and material evidence but not fully granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection of a dental disability for purposes of VA compensation and treatment due to an inadequate VA examination.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.