CONCORD, N.H. – A national dental chain that abruptly closed its offices around the country this week had about 40,000 patients in New Hampshire alone.

New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Jason Reimers said New York-based Allcare Dental and Dentures had roughly 20,000 patients at each of its two locations in the state when it shut down this week. It’s unknown how many other patients were left in the lurch nationwide, but Allcare told the Michigan attorney general’s office that it had offices in 14 states.

According to Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office, Allcare has confirmed it had offices in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Schuette said Thursday that his office would create a multi-state task force to coordinate the mediation of consumer complaints against Allcare, protect patient records and review business practices for possible lawbreaking.

Allcare executives have not returned repeated calls seeking comment, and the company’s phone system and website have been shut down by its network providers. On an alternate website it set up, the company said it was forced to shut down quickly after a plan to gradually close underperforming offices while raising capital failed and it was unable to get financing.

The company said it was working day and night to transfer patients to other dentists and provide them with their records. In New Hampshire, the attorney general’s office opened the two Allcare offices for one day Thursday so patients could get their records. Reimers said about 800 people did so.