Category: Eating Habits

Gold as an asset is viewed as less volatile and risky than most other types of investments. It is an asset that helps mitigate portfolio risks during economic downturns, and gold can also help hedge against inflation.

Demand for gold heightens during economic uncertainty, especially when inflation kicks into high gear. This demand is reflected in gold prices for short periods. The biggest long-term driver of gold prices is job income growth. The expansion of the middle class globally has also had a major impact on the demand for gold.

Gold has outperformed quite a few asset classes over the years. Investors feel safe investing in gold for that reason as well.

Gold is always fashionable, too. Due to economic uncertainty in 2020, gold was a hot topic. Out of all the most common metals on Earth, gold is one of the most scarce. Thanks to gold prices, ETFs tied to the precious metal were dishing out serious returns this past year.

Just in the past year alone, gold ETFs on average produced a 26 percent return. In March alone, average returns for gold funds were above 11 percent.

Gold has done especially well over the last couple of years as a whole, too. What about those historic highs of 2011? What factors could play a big role in gold prices moving forward into the future?

A reemergence of Covid 19 and uncertainty about the world’s economic climate are possible drivers of gold prices. The value of the US dollar and US/China relations also play their parts. Interest rates and inflation are also common drivers of the gold market. There are quite a few other factors, too, including overprinting money.

News related to the Coronavirus represents uncertain times when it comes to predicting the gold market. Headlines about Covid variants tend to hinder the broader market but boost gold prices. Any global news hampering the economy is going to find investors singling out gold as a means for producing returns during uneasy times. While a repeat pandemic is likely not in the cards, uncertain economic times are always right around the corner.

Instead of focusing on buying gold during uncertain economic times and selling gold during times of increased economic growth, the best solution is to allocate a certain percentage of portfolio funds for gold investments over the long term. Investors that attempt to buy and sell gold are timing the market according to their emotions and what’s in the news. These investors are much more likely to buy and sell gold with larger amounts of money vs allocating a certain percentage of funds. This is not the way to invest in commodities to achieve wealth. Leave the buying and selling gold to the investors who are already wealthy.

The value of the US dollar has everything to do with gold prices. When the dollar weakens, the gold market does quite well. The dollar has certainly been weakening this year, a trend that is easily noticeable and almost mappable.

Tensions between US and China were driving gold prices up ahead of the pandemic. With a Democratic president in office now, however, tensions between US and China have lessened. While that is true, China and the US traditionally have a volatile relationship that flares up from time to time. This keeps that force in play helping to drive gold prices up on occasion.

The US and other countries are printing money at a record pace, too. This may boost the economies of countries throughout the world, but it also puts inflation into overdrive. Gold plays well with inflation, and this type of scenario is what is currently playing out within the global economy. Both inflation and overprinting money are two of the biggest drivers of gold prices.

Gold mining and gold reserves are also driving factors. Currently, countries are not selling gold reserves to make economic ends meet. Quite a few countries are increasing their gold holdings ( https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/monthly-central-bank-statistics . What this means is there isn’t much pressure pushing gold prices downward.

Investment experts suggest that people allocate about 5 to 10 percent of their portfolio funds for gold investing. There are quite a few choices when it comes to investing in gold.

Investors can choose from sovereign gold bonds, gold bullion, gold ETFs, gold futures, collectible coins, and more. There is even a gold ETN that pays dividends on the premiums made from writing covered calls on a popular gold ETF that tracks the price of the precious metal.

It’s also a good idea to work with a company that specializes in tax advantaged gold investing.  If you are looking to learn more about this method then you might want to read this Goldstar Trust review.  We found it helpful in learning about gold IRA’s and how to roll over a portion of a 401k into precious metals.

Final Thoughts

Every investor needs to identify a timeframe when making investment decisions. Market research is also highly important as each investor is responsible for his or her due diligence. Just like with securities, gold is not a guarantee. The price of this precious metal fluctuates quite often based on a variety of global economic factors. Diversity is your friend as an investor, and it’s important right now to take the time to evaluate your standing with precious metals. Is your portfolio lacking?…

Everyone’s lives have been upended during these crazy times, so it’s reasonable to wonder if dentists are seeing an increase in dental problems like tooth decay.

The world got terrified and every one was forced to stay in their homes and this disrupted their normal lives. So it is understandable that a lot of folks did not go to the dentist for their regularly scheduled appointments every six months last year.

It is even understandable if you missed the whole year and did not see the dentist. Without these important regular checkups, you can be sure that there was an increase in the amount of tooth decay in patients, across the board.

Even if every patient flossed their teeth once a day, which we all know the vast majority of people do not floss regularly, if at all, you still can not remove all the plaque build up that occurs between and on the surface of your teeth.

This is why it’s so important to go to the dentist every six months. Not only can they do a great job flossing your teeth, they can get to all the hard to reach places in your mouth with their sharp dental picks. The dental picks are also very good at scraping off that dental plaque that will build up on your enamel and stubbornly refuse to come off even with the hardest brushing of a tooth brush.

Not only do you have the simple matter of time away from seeing the dentist, you have to consider the stress of the pandemic. Most people were pretty scared. What do you do when you are scared? Well, many people grind their teeth. Many people eat garbage food like lots of carbohydrates and lots of sweets (which are another form of carbs). This food gets in between teeth and does a great job of turning into decay in a very short period of time.

To learn more about how tooth decays starts, it’s symptoms and prevention techniques, be sure to read this article: Tooth decay symptoms & treatments – Illnesses & conditions – from the NHS

You see the bacteria that resides on foods and sugary drinks and starches, blend together and produce an acid. This acid attacks the hard enamel of teeth, which acts as a protective layer, but over time, and even acid attacks, the enamel gives way and starts to break down.

As long as this acid is continually kept at bay, you will be fine, but if you don’t stay on top of it, then decay sets in. The longer that decay sits on your teeth without intervention from professionals like the team at Southpoint Dentistry, the bigger problems you’ll have as the decay grows. The problem with the pandemic, is that it kept people away from the professionals that know how to best treat and prevent tooth decay.

Another peculiarity of the times is the mask situation. Everyone is forced to wear these silly masks. Because people are wearing masks and therefor others can smell their breath, I guarantee you a whole lot of people took this as a sign that they didn’t need to brush their teeth.

Now, I know it sounds crazy but you have to understand that people are lazy and they will get away with what they can get away with. But they can’t get away from themselves and that means a lot of people wearing going around smelling their stinky breath all day, but I digress.

There are even more unusual problems that you must consider about everyone staying at home and working from home, and one is the idea of “sheltering in place”. If you are so afraid that you think that buy staying at home you are “sheltering in place”, then there is a high likelihood that you will find it unnecessary to keep up with your hygiene like regular brushing and flossing.

Again, people are lazy and will get away with whatever they can get away with.

If folks are staying at home, away from friends, family, co-workers, and the pressures of society to keep up with their daily hygiene, they are likely to be lax and skip keeping their teeth clean. Add on top of this the nervousness of these crazy times with most people gaining weight from nervous eating of junk food, lack of going out, and an overall decrease in taking care of ones self, then you can see how there are likely a lot more people fighting with the problems that arise from tooth decay.

So what can you do?

The very first thing you need to do is schedule an appointment to see your dentist today. No more waiting, you need to go get your teeth cleaned by professionals. Even if you stay on top of flossing every day, and there are people that take care of their teeth and gums and floss every day, you still need to go in because the dentist can just do a better job than a patient alone.

Another thing many patients have forgotten about during the pandemic is the importance of x-rays. X-rays are a fantastic tool at spotting tooth decay before it becomes a big deal. X-rays can even spot weakness or softness on a tooth, that can turn into tooth decay over time. And the only way you can get an x-ray is to go to the dentist.

The entire purpose of dental hygiene is to constantly remove the build up of bacteria causing plaque. Over time, the build up of plaque on your teeth can transform in to tartar. Tartar is a hard calcified buildup on your teeth’s enamel that will not come off with simply brushing your teeth.

The plaque and tartar attack the enamel of your teeth and one they breakdown the enamel, they next start to breakdown the dentin. Dentin is the soft tissue that is protected by the enamel.  Dentin is not nearly as strong as the enamel, so once plaque has access to dentin, your tooth decay accelerates.

Once the plaque penetrates the dentin, it can damage the pulp of your tooth.  The pulp of your tooth is where the nerves and blood vessels that bring nutrients and life to your tooth reside.  Once your pulp gets infected with plaque, you will begin to experience pain.

And this is what the whole idea of dental hygiene and regular visits to the dentist is aimed at preventing, pain.   The reason is because no one likes to be in pain obviously, but also, once you have reached the level of experiencing tooth pain a lot of damage has already been done to your teeth.

It is much harder and painful to fix damage than it is to prevent it in the first place.  There is a reason that saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.”, exists.  The pandemic is over, everything is fine.  It’s time to start taking care of yourself and high time you go to the dentist!…

Typically, the central incisors, the lateral incisors, and the canines, both of the maxilla and the mandible, usually have a single root. The first and second premolars but only of the mandible also typically have a single root.

Each of the roots of a tooth will have at least one root canal, although some often have more.

When is a single root canal treatment necessary?

Endodontics is a dental procedure that involves the removal of the tooth’s soft center, the pulp.

This treatment is done when the pulp is injured, inflamed, or infected.

• The most common causes of pulp damage include:
• Deep decay due to untreated tooth decay
• Performing multiple dental procedures on the same tooth
• A fracture or crack in the tooth
• An injury to the tooth from trauma.

Symptoms of damaged pulp

Whn the pulp is damaged, the most common symptoms are pain, swelling, and warmth in the gums.

Single root endodontic treatment

The treatment consists of extracting the inflamed or infected pulp, cleaning the inside of the tooth, and disinfecting it carefully to fill and seal the canal and thus prevent the re-entry of new bacteria.

Treatment steps

1. The first step of endodontic treatment begins with a detailed understanding of the morphology of the tooth. The teeth vary according to the type of tooth they are and according to their location in the jaws.
2. Before starting the actual treatment, the dentist will place a slight local anesthetic on the gum near the affected tooth. Once it has taken effect, a small opening will be made on the top of the tooth.
3. When infected or damaged pulp is exposed, it will be carefully removed using special tools called files.
4. Subsequently, the canal is cleaned and disinfected, and finally, the tooth will be filled and sealed with a sealing cement and a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. If there are several channels, each of them must be carefully cleaned.
5. Finally, the procedure will be completed by filling the opening of the tooth with a temporary material. This sealant will prevent saliva from seeping into the canal until the tooth is permanently restored.

It is possible that once the treatment is finished and once the effect of the anesthesia wears off, you will experience pain in both the tooth and the gum. These symptoms can be treated with pain relievers as prescribed by the dentist. If the pain is more or lasts longer than a few days, it is essential to contact the dentist who performed the treatment.…

Dental fissures are cracks that work their way over the surface of the tooth.

The fissures that occur only in the tooth’s enamel have the appearance of a crack and do not usually produce any symptoms.

Age is an important factor as most tooth cracks occur in people over 50 years of age.

How do dental fissures occur?

Chewing

In healthy teeth, cracks can be caused by chewing ice, candy, hard nougats, or other foods that are notoriously tough.

Temperature

They can also be caused by sudden changes in temperature in the mouth.

Bruxism

The habit of bruxing wears down the surface of the tooth, making it more vulnerable to cracks. On the other hand, the pressure itself produced during tightening can also spontaneously have a dental fissure.

Trauma

In cases where the tooth is endodontist, devoid of its nerve, and the dentin dehydrates and, therefore, the tooth weakens, and a fissure may occur when biting something more complex than expected.

How are they diagnosed?

1. Visual examination using magnifying glasses and study using a probe to see if the probe is caught in the presence of a crack.
2. Using a dental stain on your teeth can help the crack to stand out visually.
3. While X-rays cannot reveal small cracks, they can show poor pulp health, which is sometimes an indication of a crack.

Treatment of dental fissure

The treatment of a dental fissure or fracture depends on several factors:

• The place where the crack is
• The size of the crack
• Whether or not it extends below the gum line

The dentist may recommend solutions such as sealing with a plastic resin to fill the crack or endodontic treatment if the crack extends into the pulp.

If the tooth, its root, and its nerve are severely damaged, sometimes the only option is to extract it.

Prevention

The best treatment for fissures is to try to prevent them.

When engaging in contact sport or work where injury could occur, it is essential to wear a mouth guard or a protective mask. It is also important to use common sense and avoid eating foods that can cause cracks, such as popcorn or nuts.

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There are many great things about the internet and one of them is the endless amounts of data that are available.  Every book that was ever written can be placed online and can be accessed and read by anyone with an internet connection.

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