Citation Nr: 21000509 Decision Date: 01/05/21 Archive Date: 01/05/21 DOCKET NO. 17-65 903 DATE: January 5, 2021 REMANDED A compensable rating for loss of teeth numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24, and 25 due to trauma is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1966 to December 1969. A November 2018 Board decision denied the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to a compensable rating for loss of teeth. In April 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) issued a Memorandum Decision vacating the Board’s decision and remanded the matter on appeal for readjudication consistent with its Memorandum Decision. A compensable rating for loss of teeth due to trauma In the April 2020 Memorandum Decision, the Court found the Board should have considered whether the Veteran experienced functional loss as a result of jaw pain, as he expressly raised this contention prior to the November 2018 Board decision. The Court noted to the extent the Board requires a medical opinion to address these matters, including the disabling effects of the Veteran’s pain, the Board must obtain such additional development on remand. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule an examination by an appropriate clinician to evaluate the Veteran’s service-connected dental disabilities of loss of teeth and residuals of a fractured mandible. The examiner should provide a full description of the disabilities and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disabilities under the rating criteria. The examiner should specifically address whether there is functional loss as a result of pain from loss of teeth and residuals of a fractured mandible. If so, the examiner should describe the functional loss and identify which disability caused the functional loss. The examiner should consider the Veteran’s lay statements that his service-connected dental disabilities limit his ability to eat, chew, and cause slurred speech. See June 2016 NOD and November 2018 Informal Hearing Presentation. By this remand, the Board makes no determination, express or implied, concerning the credibility of any lay statements on file. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Winkler, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.