Citation Nr: 18136643 Decision Date: 09/20/18 Archive Date: 09/19/18 DOCKET NO. 15-46 658 DATE: September 20, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a tooth disorder. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1990 to November 1993. This matter initially came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision. A note in the Veterans Appeals Control and Locator System (VACOLS) indicates that the Veteran failed to appear for a Board hearing at the RO scheduled for October 2016. No good cause has been presented and thus further scheduling of another hearing is not required. With respect to the Veteran’s dental claim, it is unclear whether he may be seeking entitlement to VA outpatient dental treatment. A claim for service connection for a dental disorder is also a claim for VA outpatient dental treatment. Mays v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 302 (1993). His present claim has been treated by the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) as a straightforward claim for service connection and compensation. The issue of entitlement to outpatient dental treatment was noted in the March 2015 rating decision. The RO noted that it was referring the issue to the VA Medical Center in Houston. But no such determination appears to have been made. As such, the Board refers this claim to the RO for appropriate action. Remand is required for a VA examination. Service connection for VA compensation purposes is only available for specified dental and oral conditions. 38 C.F.R. § 4.150 (2018). A veteran may be entitled to service connection for other dental conditions not listed in section 4.150, including treatable carious teeth, replaceable missing teeth, dental or alveolar abscesses, and periodontal disease, for the sole purposes of receiving VA outpatient dental services and treatment, if certain criteria are met. 38 U.S.C. § 1712 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.381(a), 17.161 (2018). The dental and oral conditions which may be service-connected for VA compensation purposes are delineated at 38 C.F.R. § 4.150, Diagnostic Codes 9900-9916 (2018) and include loss of teeth but only if such loss is due to loss of substance of body of maxilla or mandible due to trauma or due to disease such as osteomyelitis, but not due to the loss of the alveolar process as a result of periodontal disease. 38 C.F.R. § 4.150, Diagnostic Code 9913, Note (2018). The Veteran’s service dental records indicate that the Veteran underwent extensive dental treatment during service, including the extraction of teeth. In his April 2015 statement the Veteran indicated that he had problems with his gums swelling during active service and that he had undergone 2-3 root canal procedures over a 3- day period. The Veteran has yet to undergo a VA dental examination, and an examination is required in this case. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the appropriate VA Medical Center and obtain and associate with the claims file all outstanding records of treatment on and after July 1, 2016. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his representative. 2. Contact the Veteran and afford him the opportunity to identify by name, address and dates of treatment or examination any relevant medical records. Subsequently, and after securing the proper authorizations where necessary, make arrangements to obtain all the records of treatment or examination from all the sources listed by the Veteran which are not already on file. All information obtained must be made part of the file. All attempts to secure this evidence must be documented in the claims file, and if, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named records, they are not able to be secured, provide the required notice and opportunity to respond to the Veteran and his representative. 3. After any additional records are associated with the claims file, provide the Veteran with the appropriate examination to determine the etiology of his dental disability. The entire claims file must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated tests and studies must be accomplished and all clinical findings must be reported in detail and correlated to a specific diagnosis. An explanation for all opinions expressed must be provided. The examiner must provide an opinion regarding whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e. probability of 50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s loss of teeth during service is due to loss of substance of body of maxilla or mandible due to trauma or due to disease such as osteomyelitis, but not due to the loss of the alveolar process as a result of periodontal disease. 4. Notify the Veteran that it is his responsibility to report for any scheduled examination and to cooperate in the development of the claim, and that the consequences for failure to report for a VA examination without good cause may include denial of the claim. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.158, 3.655 (2018). In the event that the Veteran does not report for any scheduled examination, documentation must be obtained which shows that notice scheduling the examination was sent to the last known address. It must also be indicated whether any notice that was sent was returned as undeliverable. 5. Ensure compliance with the directives of this remand. If the reports are deficient in any manner, the AOJ must implement corrective procedures. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). K. MILLIKAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD David Nelson