How to Get Your Dental Trauma Rating: VA Form 10-564-D

VA Form 10-564-D, the Dental Trauma Rating, is a document the Department of Veterans Affairs generates after it decides that specific teeth or oral conditions were caused by combat wounds or other service trauma. You do not fill it out. The VA issues it (or its more common equivalent today, VA Form 10-7131, the Regional Office Rating Decision letter) once your dental claim has been adjudicated, and the rating places you in Class II(a) eligibility for ongoing dental care on the trauma-rated teeth.1Veterans Affairs. VA Dental Care2Department of Veterans Affairs. VHA Handbook 1130.01(1) – Veterans Health Administration Dental Program

What the Form Actually Establishes

The rating lists each tooth or oral condition the VA has tied to your in-service trauma. That list is the scope of your benefit. Class II(a) covers the dental care needed to provide and maintain a functioning set of teeth for those specific conditions, and unlike other noncompensable dental classes it is not limited to a single course of treatment.1Veterans Affairs. VA Dental Care Repeat care is allowed as long as it is necessary to keep the trauma-rated teeth functional.

Teeth and problems not listed on your rating document are not covered under Class II(a). If something new comes up, it either falls under a different eligibility class or requires a fresh claim to be added to the trauma rating.

Who Qualifies

Class II(a) eligibility applies to veterans with a service-connected noncompensable dental condition that the VA has adjudicated as resulting from combat wounds or service trauma.3eCFR. 38 CFR 17.161 – Eligibility for Outpatient Dental Treatment “Noncompensable” means you are not receiving monthly disability payments for the condition, only treatment eligibility.

Service trauma is broader than combat. It can include a training injury, an accident on duty, or any service-related event that damaged your teeth or oral structures. The VA’s rating activity decides whether the facts meet that standard.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 38 USC 1712 – Dental Care; Drugs and Medicines for Certain Disabled Veterans

One useful thing to know: once a trauma rating is established, there is no time limit on using it to get treatment. That is a real difference from ordinary Class II eligibility, which requires application within 180 days of discharge.3eCFR. 38 CFR 17.161 – Eligibility for Outpatient Dental Treatment

How to Get the Rating

Since the form is VA-generated, the way to “get” a 10-564-D is to file a claim and win it. The process runs like this:

  • Enroll in VA health care if you have not already, using VA Form 10-10EZ at VA.gov.1Veterans Affairs. VA Dental Care
  • File a claim for a service-connected dental condition with your nearest VA Medical Center or VA Regional Office. Describe the in-service trauma event and identify the affected teeth.
  • Submit supporting evidence. Service treatment records showing the dental injury carry the most weight. Buddy statements from service members who witnessed the event, and post-service dental records documenting the ongoing condition, help fill gaps.
  • Wait for the Veterans Service Center rating activity to decide whether the condition qualifies as service-connected and noncompensable due to combat wounds or service trauma.5VA Knowledge Base. Overview of Classes of Eligibility for Dental Treatment
  • If approved, you receive either Form 10-564-D or Form 10-7131 identifying the trauma-rated teeth and conditions.

Timelines depend on the complexity of the claim and the Regional Office workload, and can run several months. Clear in-service dental records documenting the trauma event tend to shorten the review.

Using the Rating to Get Care

You do not file a separate application for dental treatment once the rating exists. The rating itself is the authorization.

Contact the dental clinic at your nearest VA Medical Center, tell them you have a dental trauma rating, and bring the form or rating letter to your first appointment so the clinic can verify Class II(a) status and confirm which teeth are covered. The facility locator at VA.gov lists VA dental clinics.1Veterans Affairs. VA Dental Care

Treatment stays within the scope of the rating. If a VA provider finds that a tooth not on your rating also needs work, that care has to be authorized under a different class, or you have to file an additional claim to add the new condition to the trauma rating.

If the Claim Is Denied

The rating activity issues a denial when it concludes the condition does not stem from combat wounds or service trauma. Common reasons are insufficient evidence tying the dental problem to an in-service event, or a finding that the condition is developmental rather than traumatic.

You can appeal through the VA’s standard appeals process. Additional evidence helps: service treatment records showing the trauma event, statements from dentists explaining why the presentation is consistent with trauma rather than ordinary wear, and buddy statements from anyone who was there. A Veterans Service Organization representative can assist with the appeal at no cost.

Service-Connected Does Not Always Mean Compensable

Some dental conditions can be service-connected for treatment purposes without qualifying for disability compensation. Treatable cavities, replaceable missing teeth, abscesses, and periodontal disease are not compensable disabilities under the VA rating schedule, but they can still be service-connected to establish Class II or Class II(a) treatment eligibility.6eCFR. 38 CFR 3.381 – Service Connection of Dental Conditions for Treatment Purposes For a 10-564-D specifically, the condition has to trace back to combat wounds or service trauma, not to normal wear during service or to problems that existed before you served. That trauma element is what separates Class II(a) from ordinary Class II and what earns you ongoing care instead of a single course of treatment.