Citation Nr: 21030936 Decision Date: 05/20/21 Archive Date: 05/20/21 DOCKET NO. 21-00 129 DATE: May 20, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for dental problems, tooth #20, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for injury to the jaw and loss of lower teeth secondary to radiation therapy for service-connected throat cancer is remanded. Preliminary Matters The Veteran had honorable active duty service with the United States Navy from July 1954 to May 1957. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In May 2020, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the Veteran's electronic claims file. In October 2020, the Board remanded the issues on appeal for further development. The issues have returned to the Board for further appellate consideration. REASONS FOR REMAND Although further delay is regrettable, the Board finds that a remand is necessary in this case to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claims so that he is afforded every possible consideration. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. 1. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for dental problems, tooth #20, is remanded. As discussed by the Board in the October 2020 remand, the overall rating of this disability is intertwined with the second issue remanded herein. See October 2020 Board remand. Thus, this issue must be deferred pending adjudication of the inextricably intertwined claim. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991) (where a claim is inextricably intertwined with another claim, the claims must be adjudicated together). Accordingly, this issue is remanded for readjudication following development discussed below. 2. Entitlement to service connection for injury to the jaw and loss of lower teeth secondary to radiation therapy for service-connected throat cancer is remanded. Appellants are entitled to initial review by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) of evidence added to the claims file by VA, and waiver of such review may not be presumed. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.1304. Here, since the November 2020 statement of the case (SOC), additional evidence, including VA medical records, has been added to the claims file. This evidence has not yet been addressed in a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). In April 2021, a letter was sent to the Veteran offering the option to a waiver of initial AOJ consideration. In May 2021, the Veteran requested that the Board remand this matter back to the AOJ in order to review the additional evidence in the first instance. Therefore, this matter must be remanded so that, in compliance with the Veteran's request, an SSOC may be issued that considers the new evidence, including the additional VA-generated evidence. On remand, the AOJ should make appropriate efforts to ensure that all pertinent private treatment records and any updated VA records are associated with the claims file. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2). 1. Identify and obtain any outstanding VA and private treatment records that are not already associated with the claims file. If any record identified cannot be obtained, the Veteran and his representative should be notified of this in writing, to include all efforts taken by VA to attempt to obtain any such record. The Veteran should also be offered the option to provide any such record himself. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) 2. The Veteran's claims should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. If any benefit sought on appeal is not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be provided a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afforded the requisite opportunity to respond before the case is remanded to the Board. B. MULLINS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Y. MacDonald, 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.