Dr. Kristen Berning is a Breathe Institute Ambassador.
She attended a three day intensive course presented by Dr. Soroush Zaghi and The Breathe Institute team. Dr. Zaghi is an otolaryngologist, also known as an ENT physician. He is considered a leading expert on the functional approach to sleep and breathing. Dr. Zaghi and The Breathe Institute team use surgical and nonsurgical methods to help patients improve their breathing. He provides instruction on a functional frenuloplasty, which is a complete tongue tie release that helps to improve oral function and more. He has published research on the topic and is a strong advocate for how breathing, sleep and wellness are connected.
The Breathe Institute utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to sleep wellness and breathing.
Their team includes professionals in the following specialty fields and more:
- otolaryngologist (ENT physician_
- oral maxillofacial surgeon
- speech language pathologist
- pediatric dentist
- pharmacist
- physical therapist
- orofacial myofunctional therapist
- certified breathing behavior analyst
- craniosacral therapist
- psychologist
- certified sleep consultant
- sleep study manager
- clinical nutritionist
Dr. Kristen Berning attended this course as she has a special interest in tongue ties and lip ties. She has been releasing lip ties since she began practicing as a dentist at Exceptional Dentistry in 2006. She has been releasing tongue and lip ties on babies with feeding difficulties since early 2014, and has expanded her services to also release tongue ties on children and adults.
Dr. Berning also has a special interest in how nasal breathing positively helps facial development and growth, and how mouth breathing can negatively affect dental growth, facial growth, dental/oral health, and overall systemic health. The course taught advanced surgical techniques for a functional frenuloplasty which is a lingual frenectomy, also known as a tongue tie release. Dr. Kristen Berning is pleased to be able to bring these skills back to help her patients at Exceptional Dentistry. 
Dr. Kristen Berning provides support and treatment for breastfeeding and bottle feeding families who are dealing with lip and tongue ties. She also performs functional frenuloplasties on children and adults. She uses a LightScalpel CO2 laser to perform lip tie and tongue tie releases, including posterior tongue ties and buccal ties. To schedule a consultation or ask questions about laser lip and tongue tie revision with Dr. Kristen Berning, please call 563-556-2711 or contact us online. We serve families in the Dubuque and Tri-State area and other cites including Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and regions of northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin and northwest Illinois.