Braces are a common issue, especially for teenagers. The simple fact is that

nearly 75 percent of

all kids and teens have

some type of problem

when their adult teeth

have “grown in” - typi-

cally between the ages

of 10 - 13.

Some teeth may be

crooked, or too crowd-

ed, or have too much

space between them.

Or, they may have an

overbite or underbite, as

well as other types of “malocclusion” (bad bite) which can range from minor

to severe.

The cost of braces is not cheap! Depending on the type, braces range from

$3,000-$7,-000, so if you are lucky enough to have them, don’t be afraid to

show them off with your smile!

EmBRACE this knowledge ...Although the first braces documented were in ancient Egypt, the first type

of braces that resemble today’s designs were made in 1728 in France. They

were created from gold wire and fastened to teeth with thread.

Metal braces are made out of nickel titanium, a metal alloy that was discov-

ered by NASA when trying to create a heat-resistant metal for shuttles going

to space.

Two students at Sanford University who had no dental experience invented

invisible braces on a 3D computer. That discovery led to creation of the me-

ga-company that makes Invisalign braces.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Tom Cruise, Emma Wat-

son, Faith Hill, Gwen Stefani, and more have achieved their famous smiles

through braces.

CommonCents

COOL FACTSABOUT SPACE!

How many stars are there in the universe? NASA can only confident-

ly say that say there all zillions of uncountable stars. An Australian

National University study put their estimate at 70 sextillion. Put another

way, that’s 70,000 million million mil-lion. This figure is basically a guess,

though.

Space is completely silent. Sound waves need a medium to travel

through. Since there is no atmo-sphere in space, space will always be eerily silent. How astronauts can talk

to each other in space? They use radi-os and radio waves can travel through

space. No problem there, Houston.

Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system with a surface tempera-ture of over 840 degrees fahrenheit. It’s also the only planet to spin in the

opposite direction of Earth.

Footprints and tire tracks left behind by astronauts on the moon will stay there forever as there is no wind to

blow them away.

The first man made object sent into space was in 1957 when the Rus-sian satellite named Sputnik was

launched.

for Kids & Teens!

SHELBY COUNTY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION’S

NCUAYour savings federal insured to at least $250,000 and backed

by the full faith and credit of the United States Government

National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government AgencyCheck out our website @ ShelbyCountyCU.com

SEPTEMBER 2016 NEWSLETTER

Wear Those Braces With Pride!

STOP THE TEXTS.STOP THE WRECKS. 11 teens die every day as a result of texting while driving.

According to a AAA poll, 94% of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, but 35% admitted to doing it anyway.

21% of teen drivers involved in fatal accidents were distracted by their cell phones.

Teen drivers are 4x more likely than adults to get into car crashes or near-crashes when talking or texting on a cell phone.

DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE. JUST DON’T DO IT.

Healthy Heart RatesEvery time you go to the doctor, one of the first things the doctor or nurse will do is check your heart rate. A heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute.

In adults, a healthy resting heart rate (meaning the person is not ex-ercising) is between 60-100 beats per minute. Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart and better cardio-vascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats a minute. In kids, healthy

heart rates tend to be a little higher than adults.

Several different factors can affect a heart rate like age, activity level, temperature, emotion, stress and medications.

To check your heart rate, place your finger over your pulse, locat-ed at wrists, inside of elbows, side of neck, or top of the foot. Count the number of beats for 15 sec-onds and multiply by 4. To make sure you’re getting an accurate heart rate, the best bet is going to a doctor.

What’s A Mortgage?Owning a home is one of the biggest decisions and expenses during most people’s lives. Before the 1930s, only four in ten American fam-ilies owned their own home because very few people had enough cash to buy a home in one lump sum. And until the 1930s, there was no such thing as a bank loan specifically designed to purchase a home, something we now know as a mortgage.

In simple terms, a mortgage is a loan to purchase a house. The lender loans you a large chunk of money (typically 80% of the price of the home), which you must pay back with interest over a set period of time. Most mortgages are 15 to 30 years, but in areas where home prices are every high, like California, mort-gages can last up to 50 years. If you fail to pay back the loan, the lender can take your home through a legal process known as foreclosure.

Each month, homeowners must pay principal and interest to the lender. The principal is the sum of money you borrowed to buy your home. To lower your principal amount owed, you can put in more money towards a home’s purchase price as a higher down payment. Typically, lenders require you to make a down payment equal to 20% of the home’s purchase price to get a mortgage. Inter-est is what the lender charges you to use the money you borrowed. Both the principal and interest payments must be made on time each month to maintain a good credit rating.

Home owners are required to pay property taxes to the City of Memphis and to Shelby County each year, which can be several thousand dollars. Home owners are also required to have insurance to cover your home and your personal property against losses from fire, theft, bad weather and other causes.

In summary, the decision to buy a home should be researched and analyzed carefully!