Citation Nr: 21073081 Decision Date: 12/07/21 Archive Date: 12/07/21 DOCKET NO. 12-22 149 DATE: December 7, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for dental treatment for a dental disability is denied. FINDING OF FACT The record does not reflect that the Veteran is homeless, a prisoner of war, in receipt of a 100 percent evaluation or a TDIU, or participating in vocational rehabilitation; the record also does not reflect pleadings or evidence that the dental condition is secondary to or is secondarily aggravating any service-connected condition or is complicating any medical condition the VA is treating; the condition claimed is not a compensable service-connected condition; the Veteran did not file a claim for treatment of any dental disability within 180 days of his discharge or release from active duty. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for establishing entitlement for VA outpatient dental treatment have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1712 (2018); 38 C.F.R. § 3.381, 4.150, 17.161 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from January 1996 to January 2000. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2009 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. The Veteran did not appear at a scheduled Board hearing in March 2015, nor did he request that the hearing be rescheduled. This case was previously before the Board in September 2015, at which time the Board denied service connection for a dental disability, including loss of teeth, for compensation purposes and remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for a dental disability, including loss of teeth, for treatment purposes. The purpose of the remand was so that the issue of service connection for a dental disability for treatment purposes could initially be addressed by Veterans Health Administration (VHA). See 38 C.F.R. §3.381. In August 2021, VHA determined that the Veteran was not eligible for VA dental treatment. There has thus been substantial compliance with the Board's September 2015 remand order. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The Veteran asserts that he experienced a slow and steady decline of his teeth in service and had no such problems prior to service. He also asserts that the dental treatment he received in service and by VA shortly after service was inadequate. VA records from April 2000 to June 2000 show treatment for periodontal disease, loss of bone between teeth 9-10, 10-11, and 12-14, and work on many other teeth. August 2008 VA dental treatment notes show advanced periodontal disease with swelling gums and missing teeth 10, 17, and 32. Private dental treatment records in January 2009 and March 2009 note that the Veteran had generalized aggressive severe periodontitis with a poor to hopeless prognosis of all teeth. As noted, the Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental disability for compensation purposes in September 2015, and remanded the issue of service connection for a dental disability for treatment purposes. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim is reviewed only for consideration of service connection for the purpose of establishing eligibility for outpatient dental treatment. Absent a demonstration of dental trauma, service connection may be considered solely for the purpose of determining entitlement to dental examinations or outpatient dental treatment. In that case, treatable carious teeth, replaceable missing teeth, dental or alveolar abscesses, and periodontal disease will be considered service-connected solely for the purpose of establishing eligibility for outpatient dental treatment in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 17.161. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.381. The provisions under 38 C.F.R. § 17.161 provide for various categories of eligibility to include veterans having a compensable service-connected dental condition (Class I eligibility); one-time treatment for veterans having a noncompensable service-connected dental condition (Class II eligibility); those having a noncompensable service-connected dental condition adjudicated as resulting from a combat wound or other service trauma (Class II(a) eligibility); certain homeless and other enrolled veterans eligible for a one-time course of dental care (Class II(b) eligibility); those who were detained as a POW (Class II(c) eligibility); those who made prior applications for, and received, dental treatment from VA for noncompensable dental conditions but were denied replacement of missing teeth that were lost during any period of service prior to his or her last period of service (Class IIR (Retroactive) eligibility); those having a dental condition professionally determined to be aggravating disability from an associated service-connected condition or disability (Class III eligibility); those whose service-connected disabilities are rated at 100 percent by schedular evaluation or who are entitled to the 100 percent rating by reason of individual unemployability (Class IV eligibility); those who participate in a rehabilitation program under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 31 (Class V eligibility) and those who are scheduled for admission or who are otherwise receiving care and services under Chapter 17 of 38 U.S.C., where dental care is medically necessary (Class VI eligibility). 38 U.S.C. § 1712; 38 C.F.R. § 17.161. In specific regard to Class II eligibility, as noted, this eligibility is for any treatment reasonably necessary for the one-time correction of a service-connected noncompensable condition shown to have been in existence at time of discharge or release from active service. 38 C.F.R. § 17.161(1)(i). It is available for veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable from active service of 90 days or more in the Persian Gulf War on or after October 1, 1981, provided the veteran made application for such treatment within 180 days after such discharge or release, the veteran's DD Form 214 does not bear a certification that the veteran was provided, within the 90-day period immediately before such discharge or release, a complete dental examination (including dental x-rays) and all appropriate dental treatment indicated by the examination to be needed, and a VA dental examination was completed within six months after discharge or release, unless delayed through no fault of the veteran. Here, the Veteran asserted in his Notice of Disagreement in July 2010 that he requested a one-time treatment for his dental condition upon his separation from service in September 2000. While VA dental records show that he underwent a periodontal evaluation in April 2000 and received dental treatment from April 2000 to June 2000, his claims file does not contain an application for dental treatment within 180 days after his service discharge. Rather, the first dental claim on file is his March 2009 claim (on VA Form 21-526) for service connection for a dental disability. The Board thus finds that the Veteran is not eligible for Class II dental treatment because he did not make an application for such treatment within 180 days of release. 38 C.F.R. §17.161(b)(i)(B). The Veteran is not otherwise eligible for dental treatment under Classes I, II, IV, V, or VI. Under Class I, he does not have a service-connected dental disability, as detailed above. Under Class II(a), he does not have a dental condition from combat wounds or service trauma. Under Classes II(b) and II(c), he is not homeless and was not a prisoner of war. Under Class II(R), he was not denied replacement of missing teeth with application made within one year of April 5, 1983. Under Class IV, he does not have service-connected disabilities rated at 100 percent. Under Class V, he has not participated in VA's Vocational Rehabilitation program. Under Class VI, the evidence does not show the Veteran has been scheduled for admission or is otherwise receiving care and services under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 17 for a dental condition clinically determined to be complicating a medical condition currently under treatment. In short, the evidence of record does not show the Veteran is entitled to dental treatment under any of the eligible Classes of treatment available under the law. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim for entitlement to service connection for a dental condition for treatment purposes must be denied. Kristin Haddock Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Shawkey, 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.