Citation Nr: 21005654 Decision Date: 02/02/21 Archive Date: 02/02/21 DOCKET NO. 16-24 023A DATE: February 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for mandible disability is granted. Entitlement to service connection for residuals of an injury to the mouth is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a dental disability, for compensation purposes and for purposes of obtaining VA outpatient treatment, is remanded. INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from September 2001 to December 2011. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2020, the Veteran and his wife testified a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of this hearing has been associated with the claims file. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s mandible disability had its onset in service. 2. The Veteran’s mouth disability had its onset in service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for a mandible disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for a mouth disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran states that he experiences mandible and mouth disabilities that are related to service and have persisted since then. The Veteran’s service treatment records demonstrate that he underwent surgical procedures in October 2010 to correct malpositioned gingiva and obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran first underwent genioglossal advancement with subsequent symphysis of the mandible. He then underwent an open reduction with rigid internal fixation of the mandible fracture and reposition osteotomy of the chin with advancement. During the August 2020 hearing, the Veteran testified as to the functional limitations resulting from these in-service surgeries, including as a result of pain and numbness. See Sanders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2018). His spouse’s testimony echoed and confirmed the Veteran’s statements. The Board acknowledges the January 2012 VA examination, during which a physical evaluation did not reveal the presence of mouth or mandible disability beyond parasthesia of the lower lip, chin, and mandible incisors, as well as extracted tooth #24. At the hearing, the Veteran reported competently and credibly he suffers from locking, constant and severe, pain, as well as numbness and tingling sensation in his jaw, which has been present since service, including following surgery. Further, his wife, who has known him since 2002, while he was on active duty, corroborated this account. In light of the foregoing, the Board finds that the competent and credible statements of the Veteran and his wife are consistent with the other evidence of record, to include the service treatment records. Thus, the Board finds that mandible and mouth disability personally experienced by the Veteran is related to service. See Flynn v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 500, 503 (1994). In light of the Veteran’s and his spouses’ credible history of mandible and mouth disability in and since service, the Board finds that service connection for mandible and mouth disability is warranted because the disabilities onset in service. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. 3.303(a). REASONS FOR REMAND Given the Board’s determinations herein, a remand is warranted in order for the RO to undertake the appropriate development and adjudication with respect to the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to service connection for a dental disability, both for disability compensation purposes and for purposes of obtaining VA outpatient treatment. 38 C.F.R. § 20.202; see Mays v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 302 (1993). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and afford him the opportunity to identify or submit any additional pertinent evidence in support of his claim. Based on his response, attempt to procure copies of all records which have not previously been obtained from identified treatment sources. 2. Provide the Veteran with VA dental examination. Make the Veteran’s electronic claims file available to the examiner and ensure that the examiner specifies in the report that it was contemporaneously reviewed. All pertinent symptomatology and findings must be reported. Any indicated special diagnostic tests that are deemed necessary for an accurate assessment must be conducted. 3. The examiner should then provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any found dental disability was incurred in or due to the Veteran’s active duty. In so doing, the appropriate examiner must specifically consider and discuss the Veteran’s in-service surgeries, as well as the lay statements and testimony of record. All rendered opinions must be accompanied by a thorough rationale. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Sean G. Pflugner, 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.