DAYTON — Patients of Allcare Dental & Dentures who need continued care should go to a licensed dentist as soon as possible, a state official said Tuesday in the wake of Allcare’s companywide shutdown.

Lili Reitz, executive director of the Ohio State Dental Board, said she hoped other dentists will accommodate Allcare patients.

Reitz also said Allcare patients are entitled to a copy of their records, and they should request those from Allcare “somehow,” but she couldn’t say how they might do that, with the company’s phone lines and main website down. She also advised patients to contact attorneys.

“Patients are left high and dry,” she said.

She said the board’s phones were ringing “off the hook” with calls from people affected by the situation, but she could not say if the board had received complaints against the company or its employees before the closings. She said the board has never disciplined the company.

The state attorney general represents the state dental board. Kim Kowalski, spokeswoman for the attorney general, recommended that those affected call the office’s complaint line at (800) 282-0515 or visit the website speakoutohio.gov, a complaint site for the AG’s office.

She said the office fielded 38 complaints against Allcare in 2010. The complaints range from billing issues to charges of “poor service.”