(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Courtney Sands couldn’t escape the throbbing pain in the back of her mouth: The Pennsylvania mom needed root canal treatment and crowns on two back teeth to get rid of the infection that was causing the pain.
But a visit to an endodontist this spring produced a different kind of pain familiar to many dental patients: Before the specialist could begin filing away at the tooth, the office staff asked the patient for thousands of dollars in advance.
Sands returned to the hospital a week later to get crowns on two back teeth. Though she had dental insurance through her job and her husband, she had to pay before getting treatment, so she ended up paying more than $6,000 on her high-interest credit cards.