A new study conducted in a Saudi Arabia dental clinic suggests dentists may be better suited to diagnose sleep apnea, according to World Report Now.

According to the latest study conducted by Thikriat Al-Jewair, orthodontic researcher at Buffalo University, dentists are far better sleep apnea diagnosticians than specialized doctors. The main reason for this is the fact that the two single visible signs of the illness are enlarged tonsils and indentations on the tongue caused by teeth pressure.

In order to tests his theory, Dr. Al-Jewair studied 200 patients at a Saudi Arabia dental clinic. The doctors gave the patients the Berlin Questionnaire, and then checked their blood pressure levels and any irregularities in the tonsils, uvula and tongue.

From the 200 patients that the dentists suspected of suffering from sleep apnea, 23 percent were actually affected by the syndrome. Almost 80 percent out of the confirmed 23 were overweight males.

Other signs of sleep apnea are irritability, crankiness, and sleepiness. All of them are caused by the fact that a person that suffers from the syndrome cannot properly rest at night. The patient doesn’t even realize that his or her sleep is interrupted or has poor quality.

View the full story at www.worldreportnow.com