A couple years back, Masami finally convinced me to have my remaining amalgam fillings removed.  These were three large, clunky, mercury-laden fillings that I received somewhere between the ages of 9 and 11, a time when cosmetic appearances didn’t seem to matter as much as patching the potholes.  I’d resisted following through because a few years earlier, I’d had another mercury amalgam replaced by a traditional dentist, and the effects of that exposure had noticeably left my body weakened for years after.