The Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental condition is denied as there is no evidence of loss of substance of the body of the maxilla or mandible due to trauma or disease during active military service.,The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for left wrist disability remains denied, as his current range of motion does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic code.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for right and left wrist disabilities are both remanded due to lack of communication or evidence submitted prior to the respective effective dates.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence to establish that the Veteran has a current dental condition related to service, as there is no indication of loss of substance of the body of the maxilla or mandible due to trauma or disease during active military service.,The Veteran's left wrist disability does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under any applicable diagnostic code, given his current range of motion and lack of ankylosis.,There is no communication from prior to March 3, 2015, or May 13, 2016, that could be interpreted as an informal claim for the right wrist or left wrist disabilities, respectively.
- Claimed conditions
- Dental condition, Left wrist disability, Right wrist disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000708
Veterans Law Judge
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20000708.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the claims for psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.,Service connection was granted for right lower extremity radiculopathy and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to a service-connected back disability, but denied for right wrist disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) from August 6, 2008 due to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for right elbow, left elbow, right wrist, and left wrist disabilities as there is no current evidence of these conditions.
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