White fillings as it is more commonly known, are actually resin fillings. This material is soft and can be shaped to fill any shape on a tooth left by the removal of decay. After a resin filling has been placed into a tooth, a special infrared light is exposed to the resin to harden the resin material, a process known as polymerization. The later generation of resin filling is as durable as the old amalgam(silver) filling but extremely more esthetic which is why it should be the filling of choice. However, resins can be used as small to medium fillings.

Some insurance companies do not reimburse fully for resin fillings not because they are inferior but because of cost savings to the insurance company. It should be the patients right to choose to have resin fillings and not be governed by their insurance limitations and exclusions. Dental Insurance companies have no real interest as to what is best for the patients teeth. Their real interest is in limiting benefits to increase profits.