HERE is some dental data to get your teeth into.

Smart and Cook, the Yorkshire insurance broker, whose healthcare division is based at Monks Cross, York, has just "pulled" its 2002nd dentist. (Pronounced tooth-thousand and second?)

This brings the company's share of the dentists' insurance cover market in Britain to six per cent.

The firm's cover package includes public liability insurance, standard employer's liability for staff, accidental breakage, fire, theft and flood for practice-owned buildings and contents plus any loss of income through closure as a result.

Andrew Johnson, director of Smart and Cook Healthcare, said: "The healthcare industry has changed significantly over the last few years and consequently our clients' requirements for insurance based on products and advice have become more diverse and varied.

"There are now more private clinics and the rise in popularity of cosmetic surgery has turned what was once a standard scale and polish service into stylish dental studios which offer a myriad of products."

Updated: 09:49 Tuesday, September 24, 2002