AG Sues Dental Chain In Medford Over 'Bait-And-Switch' Ads

MEDFORD, MA — A chain of dental offices with a location in Medford is being accused of deceptive advertising practices.

Attorney General Maura Healey is suing Aspen Dental under the state Consumer Protection Law, alleging the company lured customers with deals and services that never came to fruition. Healey filed the lawsuit Friday against the chain, which has hundreds of dental practices across the U.S., including 25 in Massachusetts.

Healey claims Aspen advertised free first appointments for patients with dental emergencies, but would later bill them for those visits. The chain also failed to disclose limitations on some offers, like money-back guarantees on dentures, Healey said.

"Aspen Dental took advantage of vulnerable consumers in need of dental care and used misleading advertising to lure them into their offices under false pretenses," she said in a news release.

A spokesperson for the company told Spectrum 1 the lawsuit is based on "old information."

"The attorney general is relying on old information gathered during the course of an investigation that’s now lasted for more than 5-years. They try to make up in sound and fury what the charges lack in merit," the spokesperson said. "The approach is obviously designed to grab headlines. Not surprisingly, we intend to fight this case."

A 2014 lawsuit Healey filed against Aspen Dental netted a $990,000 settlement. That suit alleged that Aspen made "misleading advertisements, unlawfully charged consumers for treatments weeks or months before they were rendered, and failed to provide refunds," according to Healey's office.