Can’t say why, but I’ll see if I can look it up. In the meantime, most dental care rates can be negotiated if you offer to pay cash. The discounts can be significant.
I don’t think dental falls under medical coverage. It never has in the civilian world.
I wasn’t even aware that the VA offered general dental coverage. I’m service connected but dental has never been part of my benefits.
a few years ago when the dentist retired and we didn’t have a replacement dentist at our local VA clinic the VA allowed us to go to a private dentist closer to home...for 2 years until they got a new dentist I went to one I chose from a list...this was before Choice...
The VA arranged everything...I didn’t have to sign anything...
check and see if you can go to one without using Choice...
Money
Dental work done by the VA is related to your disability determination, normally, and almost all of it falls into reconstructive surgery or follow on.
Something you didn’t say if your disability was related to dental. Did you have a service related dental incident that fell under your determination? (Something like a combat injury that caused damage to your face or teeth)
I’ve been determined, at least twice, to be 100%, called home bound, but I have a separate dental policy with another carrier to handle my dental. Normal dental needs like extracting teeth, to include wisdom teeth, or cleanings, are the responsibility of the patient, not the taxpayer.
If your VA has a program that they can afford to offer selective dental care not determination related, then you are lucky. It’s treated like elective surgeries in a military hospital. Unless doctors wish to do the surgeries to train, like my home hospital, Madigan, in Washington State, then the surgery will have to be done outside. And if elective, you may have to foot the bill.
I recently had a heart procedure done by a contracted provider downtown as there was no one or no equipment to do it on base or at the VA. And that was within the disability determination I have. I paid nothing for it but only because of medicare and ultimately tricare for life.
Have a visit with your VA reps and let them read the ruling to you through the changing VA standards that were set up in 2014 under the Obama administration. I don’t have all the changes as I do not deal with the VA that much. Good luck.
rwood
Almost all dental care is not an emergency; and really, how often do you go to the dentist in the first place. 30 days to get a dental appointment is not unusual in the private sector.
Dental care if related to service, i.e. extraction performed while on active service, leaving a space. The denture would be covered. Post service dental care? I think that is wishful thinking. I’m on Trycare for life, but I had to take Delta Dental for dental coverage which comes out of my retirement check.
You can still go to a VA facility for dental care...
granted you will have to travel that far but you will get mileage for the round trip..”Travel”