TMJ and jaw dysfunction VA rating
The VA rates tmj and jaw dysfunction under DC 9905, and most ratings land in the 10–40% range. What decides yours is the criteria below and what your record actually documents.
What the criteria ask for at each level
DC 9905 — 38 CFR §4.150
| Rating | What the record has to show |
|---|---|
| 10% | Maximum vertical opening 30–34 mm with no dietary restriction, or lateral excursion limited to 0–4 mm. Normal opening is 35–50 mm. |
| 20% | Opening 21–29 mm with no dietary restriction, or 30–34 mm restricted to soft and semi-solid foods. |
| 30% | Opening 11–20 mm with no dietary restriction, or 21–29 mm restricted to soft and semi-solid foods, or 30–34 mm restricted to full liquid and pureed foods. |
| 40% | Opening 0–10 mm with no dietary restriction, or 11–20 mm restricted to mechanically altered foods, or 21–29 mm restricted to full liquid and pureed foods. |
| 50% | Opening 0–10 mm with restriction to all mechanically altered foods. |
The schedule's own words
Ratings turn on specific terms, and a record that describes the same reality in different language often reads as a lower rating. These are the words this code measures:
- inter-incisal range of motion
- restricted to soft/non-chewable diet
- bruxism
Evidence that moves this rating
- Dental/TMJ exam measuring mouth opening in millimeters
- Dental records showing grinding damage or night-guard prescription
What your statement has to cover
Doctors chart symptoms; they rarely chart consequences. That part is yours, and it is usually what separates a documented rating from a reported one.
- Describe diet limits: foods you can no longer eat, meals cut short by jaw pain.
- Nighttime grinding (bruxism) is commonly secondary to PTSD/anxiety — connect it if your mental health is service-connected.
Our Statement Builderwalks through the questions that produce that kind of statement, in the schedule's own terms.
What tmj and jaw dysfunction can lead to2 documented pathways
A secondary claim runs through a condition the VA already accepts, so the argument about your service is already won. What is left is the medical link — and a nexus opinion has to name the mechanism, not just the pair.
| Can lead to | The mechanism a nexus has to state |
|---|---|
| Migraine headaches | Jaw muscle spasm and trigeminal nerve irritation trigger headaches. |
| Depression | Chronic facial pain and eating/speaking restrictions degrade mental health. |
A pathway existing in the literature is not the same as your claim being granted — your records and the VA decide that. How secondary claims work covers the argument.
Before you spend money on this claim
VA ratings do not add. Each new rating applies only to the part of you the VA still counts as unimpaired, then rounds to the nearest ten — so from 70%, a new 10% condition leaves you at exactly 70% and changes your payment by nothing.
That does not make the claim worthless; it can still matter for TDIU, for SMC, or later when something else is added. But it is worth knowing before you pay for a nexus letter rather than after. Check what one more condition does at your rating — it takes a minute.