Address for correspondence Raoul Bationo E-mail: raobat10@yahoo.fr Funding sources none declared Conflict of interest none declared Received on September 9, 2016 Revised on November 9, 2016 Accepted on November 23, 2016 Abstract Background. Dental emergencies affect the mission of deployed units. During military operations, the definition of dental emergency is different from that which is commonly accepted in dentistry. There is no notion of seriousness or need for urgent care. A considerable number of studies concerning American, French and other armies exist in the literature. This is the first study in Burkina Faso. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to quantify the dental emergency rate observed in Burkina Faso soldiers deployed in Mali and to determine the percentage of dental emergencies. Material and methods. All the reasons for dental emergencies, between February 2015 and January 2016, were documented from the data of the register of clinical activities from the dental clinic of Timbuktu level 1 hospital. Results. Caries accounted for 47.1% of dental emergencies. The second most common reason for visiting the dental clinic was periodontal diseases (19.3%), followed by lost crowns (9.7%). Fractured teeth caries accounted for 9% of emergencies and 7.1% of emergencies were attributed to infections. The remaining visits for dental emergencies accounted for 7.8%. The dental emergency rate for Burkina Faso Forces based in Mali is 182 per 1,000 soldiers per year. Conclusions. Caries are the main reason why soldiers went to the dental clinic. Dental emergencies can significantly affect the mission of the deployed unit. Key words: dental emergencies, operational capability, deployed soldiers, Burkina Faso Army Słowa kluczowe: nagłe przypadki stomatologiczne, zdolność operacyjna, rozlokowani żołnierze, armia Burkina Faso DOI 10.17219/dpm/67315 Copyright © 2017 by Wroclaw Medical University and Polish Dental Society This is an article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Original papers Dental emergencies in Burkina Faso Armed Forces Nagłe przypadki stomatologiczne u żołnierzy sił zbrojnych Burkina Faso Raoul Bationo 1, A, C, D , Wendpouiré P. L. Guiguimdé 2, E, F , Hamidou Ouédraogo 1, B , Blintim Somé 1, B 1 Medical Center of General Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, Burkina Faso 2 Health Department, Ouaga I University Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso A – research concept and design; B – collection and/or assembly of data; C – data analysis and interpretation; D – writing the article; E – critical revision of the article; F – final approval of article Dental and Medical Problems, ISSN 1644-387X (print), ISSN 2300-9020 (online) Dent Med Probl. 2017; 54(1): 49–51