How to import numerical columns as strings?

I am trying to import data from a .tsv file by using tdfread. One of the variables take values like "0000897069-09-001106". Matlab mistakenly imports it as numerical (897069). How can I import it as a string?

[Stephen23]

"How can I import it as a string?"

Import the filedata using textscan, specifying the format yourself.