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
- Not verified here — check the original 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18143368.
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: Granted
The Veteran's periodontal disease is service-connected for treatment purposes only, given his current 100% schedular evaluation.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental condition, including tooth loss due to injury, is being remanded as the VA examination scheduled in March 2025 was not conducted due to the Veteran's failure to appear. The Board finds that the Veteran should be rescheduled for a new VA examination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient examination and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. A new VA examination is required.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental disorder (periodontal disease) as there was no new and relevant evidence received since the June 2019 rating decision to support her claim.
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