Schuetz

Tooth whitening has been an effect people have been seeking for hundreds of years. The glow of a smile from clean teeth was a symbol of health, wealth status, and family upbringing. Sometimes having a healthy mouth overshadowed tooth whitening, but soon enough it became just as important as having healthy gums and strong teeth.

The Egyptians, Romans, and even during the dawn of man, knew the importance of good oral health. By using chewing sticks, which were small pieces of sticks worn down at one end; this enabled them to scrub the particles off of their teeth after a meal. After all, these periods of the human race needed their teeth in order to survive. The nearest dentist was at least 2000 years away, so dentures were entirely out of the question.

The Middle Ages brought forth the legendary barber and his red and white striped pole, (which was brought forth by hanging blood soaked bandages and clean, white bandages outside to dry, then being wrapped together by the wind, thus forming a pole). The barber, at this time had a dual role of cutting peoples hair and pulling their teeth. This was the important time of tooth whitening because it lead to greater social standing and was a label to the outside world that you had enough to eat, in which case, others did not. So, the barbers role became to not only pull teeth, but to whiten them as well. He would file the teeth down and smudge corrosive nitric acid on them and in turn their teeth would have a beautiful luminous glow to them. However, the effect of this procedure led to the destruction of the enamel and then would lead to decayed teeth. Hopefully by this time they wouldnt have to rely on their social graces to get through life, but on their personality like the rest of us.

The nitric acid (although destructive) was quite popular up to the 1800s, until the Italians came across people with stained, but cavity-free teeth. This was due to the high fluoride soil content. Along with these scientists research and other scientists from around the world, fluoride was labeled to be an important factor in healthy, white teeth. In many parts of the world it was added to the drinking water, thus becoming available to everyone. Even those that were unable to purchase toothpaste or mouthwash. Thanks to this fluoride finding, this gave dentists more time to focus their attention on tooth whitening, which would prove to be more profitable.

To the present day, tooth whitening has become a booming business, with a variety of ways to achieve that radiant smile while satisfying all price ranges. Dentists today, speak more on preventative care in order to have white teeth, such as staying away from coffee, tea, tobacco, red wine, and even some medications. However, for those of us that need our daily cup of coffee and daily glass of red wine, there is a multitude of ways to getting your teeth whitened. You can do it at home by purchasing over-the-counter strips or by going to the dentist and receiving the latest and greatest procedure in tooth whitening (which luckily doesnt contain nitric acid anymore).

Tooth whitening is available to everyone in the world, and youd be surprised that some people (even to this day) still use chewing sticks. However, a radiant smile still means the same thing now, as it did then: health, wealth, and good family upbringing has been replaced with the importance of appearance.

Copyright Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Home teeth whitening is becoming an increasingly popular cosmetic procedure. Learn more about tooth whitening, the various whitening systems, benefits and potential risks at Lustrous Teeth.com.

Looking for a tax shelter, literally? Purchasing a home is probably the single best way to cut your yearly tax burden. For many consumers, purchasing a home opens the door to the world of the itemized deduction. When consumers purchase a home, the mortgage interest deduction and real estate tax deduction puts them above the standard yearly deduction allocated by the IRS, allowing them to deduct other expenses such as cash donations to your church, clothes you donated to charity, state and local income taxes, even tax preparation fees.

In fact, the home mortgage deduction is on the rise, from about $20 billion in 1981 to $38.8 billion in 2002 to nearly $70 billion in 2003, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Law professor Deborah Geier shows the home-mortgage deduction is the third-largest single "tax expenditure" behind the deductions companies take for contributions to pension plans and for health-care premiums. Those add up to more than $400 billion over the next four years, according to the Joint Committee.

In a possible response to keeping funds in the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service has changed the tax codes for mortgage interest. IRS publication 936 now divides home mortgages into three categories: 1.Home Acquisition Debt, 2. Refinanced Home Acquisition Debt & 3. Home Equity Debt. "In most cases, you will be able to deduct all of your home mortgage interest. Whether it is all deductible depends on the date you took out the mortgage, the amount of the mortgage, and your use of its proceeds", according to the IRS.

First of all, the IRS mandates interest only deductible for a qualified home in a secured loan. A secured loan basically includes a legal instrument such as a mortgage, deed of trust or land contract. The home must be used a collateral. In other words, only your first or second home qualifies. If you have vacation homes or rentals, check out the tax codes for specifics on the eligibility of those deductions. Wrap-around debts, also known as, seller financing are NOT secured unless "recorded or otherwise perfected under state law." Crunching the numbers: All mortgage interest for loans taken prior to October 1987 is fully deductible. But, for loans after 1987, the IRS shows, "The total amount you can treat as home acquisition debt (basically a mortgage) at any time on your main home and second home cannot be more than $1 million ($500,000 if married filing separately)."

If you refinance your mortgage, the second mortgage qualifies for the deduction only up to the value of the previous mortgagee at the time of refinancing. There is the reason why a home-equity loan could provide better tax relief if your previous mortgage is years old. The IRS limits the home equity debt deduction to the smaller of: $100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately) or the total of each home's fair market value (FMV) reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of its home acquisition debt and grandfathered debt. Determine the FMV and the outstanding home acquisition and grandfathered debt for each home on the date that the last debt was secured by the home.

The IRS also has guidelines for mortgages not used for home acquisition or improvements if you meet certain guidelines. For example, if you are building a home and take out the mortgage before the work is completed.

Purchasing a new home could turn into one of the best ways for you to save yearly capital. The current allowable deduction put many consumers into the itemized deduction range and opens the door to saving more on your yearly taxes. You have heard it takes money to make money. Spending some cash on a new home could save you thousands maybe millions of dollars in the big picture.

Nick Rian is an award-winning journalist with credits that include awards from the Associated Press, Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association and The Milwaukee Press Club. You can read more of Nicks articles at the Bridge Mortgage Refinancing and get more information about refinance, debt consolidation, and home purchase loans. Look for more information regarding home mortgage advantages for people with low credit scores, please visit Bad Credit Mortgages. You can also visit the 100% Mortgage Financing department online if you would like to speak to a loan officer or real estate professional about zero down home loans. For a complete list of the guidelines, visit http://www.irs.gov/publications/p936/ar02.html