Veterans Health Care: Information on Eligibility for and Use of Dental Benefits

More than 9 million veterans are enrolled in VA health care, but only about 26 percent qualify for dental benefits, generally those with 100 percent service-connected disability or former POW status. GAO found the eligible population grew roughly 70 percent from FY 2020 to FY 2025, reaching 2.3 million, driven mostly by veterans rated fully disabled or unable to work.

Congress, via the Senator Elizabeth Dole Act, has directed a 2026 pilot extending dental benefits to veterans with heart disease, citing links between oral health and cardiac conditions. GAO estimates that expansion could add over 600,000 more veterans, pushing eligibility past 3 million, and VHA officials say it would likely require hiring more dentists and hygienists and expanding clinic space that doesn't yet exist.

The VA committed $3.1 billion to dental care in FY 2025 and expects costs to keep climbing regardless of whether the heart-disease expansion proceeds.

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