The Veteran's dental disability, including caries, missing teeth, and TMD/bruxism, is related to his active service. The Board has remanded the case for further examination and opinion regarding the etiology of these disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examinations were inadequate and contradictory, necessitating a new examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's dental disability.
- Claimed conditions
- caries, missing teeth, TMD/bruxism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2026
- Citation
- A26017237
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 A26017237.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for a dental disorder, including missing teeth due to jaw surgery during service, was denied as the evidence did not support a finding of service trauma or malpractice.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental condition, including missing teeth, for compensation purposes due to a lack of evidence demonstrating a current disability that meets the criteria for a compensable dental disability as defined by VA regulations.
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