Dental offices report hacking leaving patients scrambling, frustrated

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Patients who might have a toothache may also be experiencing a major headache, after more than a thousand dental offices experience a cybersecurity attack.

There are more than 1000 Aspen Dental locations across the U.S. and four in the Lowcountry. The company announced in a statement late last week it had been the target of a “cybersecurity incident” temporarily affecting scheduling systems, phone systems and other business applications.

Aspen Dental said on its website it caught the issue early, but still has a way to go.

Tonya Green had a follow-up appointment at the Summerville Aspen Dental office last Tuesday, but there was no one there. She paid upfront for her services.

“No sign, no phone call, no email. No text and still yet nothing,” she said.

Green expressed disappointment in her previous experiences and says this latest incident may be the last straw.

“I’m going to find the care somewhere else and I don’t know, hopefully, I’ll hear from them and find out what’s the next step what do we do as far as getting compensated,” she said.

John Corum, who was helping his friend get care last week at the West Ashley location, says they couldn’t pay because the systems were down.

They still haven’t been able to reschedule.

“If things get kind of a little worse, you just have to take one day at a time, one step at a time and just pray that his gums, his teeth or his dentures won’t get any sore, or won’t get messed up,” Corum said.

There are more than 1000 Aspen Dental locations across the U.S. and four in the Lowcountry. The company announced in a statement late last week it had been the target of a “cybersecurity incident” temporarily affecting scheduling systems, phone systems and other business applications.

Though offices may be open on Monday, the company has not stated if they’re operating at 100% capacity.

Lancie Affonso, a computer science professor at the College of Charleston, says threats of this nature especially against healthcare systems with stored sensitive personal information are only increasing.

“There’s no easy solution. It involves a lot of training, hiring the necessary cybersecurity individuals. But even with the most capable professionals in-house, all it takes is one weak link,” Affonso said.

He says companies should have contingency plans for when they’re threatened by cyber attacks, not if.

Aspen Dental has not yet responded to questions about whether any confidential patient information had been accessed.

But the company has said its investigation is still in the early stages.

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