For Your Benefit For and about Hawaii's military

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VA provides dental care under certain conditions

Question: I was recently discharged from active duty and did not receive any dental care prior to separating, and need some help. How do I go about taking care of this problem?

Answer: Effective Jan. 28, the following criteria apply: be recently discharged with a service-connected noncompensable dental condition or disability; have served on active duty 90 days or more; apply for Department of Veterans Affairs dental care within 180 days of separation from active duty.

The veteran may then receive a one-time treatment for dental conditions if the dental condition is shown to have existed at the time of discharge or release and the veteran's certificate of discharge does not indicate that the veteran received necessary dental care within a 90-day period prior to discharge or release.

Dental treatment also can be authorized to the following: those having a service-connected compensable dental disability; prisoners of war and those whose service-connected disabilities have been rated at 100 percent or who are receiving the 100 percent rate by reason of individual unemployability; those participating in a VA vocational rehabilitation program.

To learn more about VA dental care, call the VA Medical Clinic at 433-0600 or go to www.va.gov/healtheligibility.