The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for TMJ with bruxism is denied. The Board found that there was no pending formal or informal claim prior to April 5, 2023, and thus the earliest possible effective date is April 5, 2023.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show a clear and unmistakable error in the August 2014 rating decision denying service connection for TMJ with bruxism prior to April 5, 2023.
- Claimed conditions
- TMJ with bruxism
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2026
- Citation
- A26039642
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 A26039642.
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: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the proposed reduction of the disability rating for TMJ with bruxism from 40 percent to 20 percent was not an appealable issue as it was not a final rating action.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals regarding service connection for GERD, sleep apnea, TMJ with bruxism, and an initial increased rating in excess of 50 percent for migraines due to the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and sleep disturbance have been dismissed due to untimely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) filings.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines has been granted, as it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for TMJ with bruxism, but denied service connection for eye disability, including Fuch's eye dystrophy. The issues of entitlement to TDIU and the remanded claims are pending.
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