Kate Middleton's matchmaker friend Sam Waley-Cohen, who owns a £300 million oral health chain, warns of 'spike in mouth cancer' if dental surgeries aren't allowed to reopen

• Sam Waley-Cohen owns more than 100 dentist surgeries in UK worth £300M
• Entrepreneur says there's a risk of spike in mouth cancer if dentists don't reopen
• Sam, a champion jockey, is famed for getting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to rekindle their romance after their split in 2007 

Deaths linked to mouth cancer will soar if the government refuses to allow dentist to reopen, a friend of Kate Middleton has claimed.

Sam Waley-Cohen, 38, who owns £300m worth of oral health practices,  told the Sunday Telegraph, it was 'inexplicable' that dentist's offices remained closed as 'most have higher hygiene standards than hospitals'. 

The former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey also said the closure has led to up to 10million missed appointments. 

Despite his prowess in business and sports, he is perhaps most famed as the man whose magic brought Prince William and Kate Middleton back together after their split in March 2007. 

Sam Waley-Cohen, 38, who owns £300m worth of oral health chains, told the Sunday Telegraph , it was 'inexplicable' that dentist's offices remained closed as most have higher hygiene standards than hospitals. He is pictured with Kate Middleton in 2008

He said: 'One of the things dentists do is diagnose mouth cancer - that's a big risk. 

'The second risk is as you get mouth infections, the pain and discomfort stops you from being able to eat, so nutrition declines, it has a very close relationship with other healthcare problems. 

'The third is children's oral care, which is really important to establish when they're young.' 

British Dental Association guidelines say all routine, non-urgent dental care including orthodontics should be stopped and deferred until advised otherwise due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey also said the closure has led to up to 10million missed appointments. He is pictured with Kate Middleton at the Cheltenham in 2008, he is a close friend of both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

WHAT IS MOUTH CANCER? 

Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer, is where a tumour develops in the lining of the mouth. 

It may be on the surface of the tongue, the insides of the cheeks, the roof of the mouth (palate), or the lips or gums.

Tumours can also develop in the glands that produce saliva, the tonsils at the back of the mouth, and the part of the throat connecting your mouth to your windpipe (pharynx). However, these are less common. 

Symptoms of mouth cancer include:

• sore mouth ulcers that don't heal within several weeks
• unexplained, persistent lumps in the mouth that don't go away
• unexplained, persistent lumps in the neck that don't go away
• unexplained looseness of teeth, or sockets that don't heal after extractions
• unexplained, persistent numbness or an odd feeling on the lip or tongue
• sometimes, white or red patches on the lining of the mouth or tongue – these can be early signs of cancer, so they should also be investigated
• changes in speech, such as a lisp

See your GP or dentist if these symptoms don't heal within three weeks, particularly if you drink or smoke heavily.

But they have also warned patients needing dental care in England are being left in agony because they are unable to get emergency care amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Another concern is a surge in DIY dentistry as people attempt to  treat themselves at home

Mouth cancer rates soared in the UK last year to hit a record high before the pandemic.

Sam owns more than 100 dental chains worth more than £300 million across the UK. He is pictured at Cheltenham 

While rates of most cancer types are falling, disease of the mouth has bucked the trend and has shot up by 135 per cent over the past 20 years.

Last year seven people died every day from the illness, which affected a total 8,337 patients in the UK. 

The worrying findings were laid bare in a report by the Oral Health Foundation charity published in November, which is pleading with people to wise up to the causes of the 'devastating' disease - chiefly the sexually transmitted virus HPV, alcohol and smoking.

Mr Waley-Cohen, 38, who is also close with Prince William, owns more than 100 practices across the UK. He is pictured at a roller disco with Kate Middleton in 20018

Mr Waley-Cohen, who is also close with Prince William, owns more than 100 practices across the UK.

As well as a very successful dental business he unexpectedly won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run in 2011, the first ammeter jockey in more than 30 years to win the race. 

It was at a party thrown by Sam at his family's 17th Century mansion in Oxfordshire in June of that year that Kate and William were spotted deep in conversation and within a few weeks they were holidaying together in the Seychelles. 

Despite his prowess in business and sports, he is perhaps most famed as the man whose magic brought Prince William and Kate Middleton back together after their split in March 2007. He is pictured in 2008

Sam, however, is quick to deny his match-making powers and play down his part in the history of Britain's most celebrated couple.

Speaking to the Mail in 2011 he said: 'There's an idea that I was like Cupid with a bow and arrow. People love the idea that somebody put them back together but they put themselves together far more,' he said. 

The son of leading racehorse owner Sir Robert Waley-Cohen and his wife Felicity, the daughter of Viscount Bearstead, Sam is the product of a privileged background.

However, tragedy struck his family while he was a teenager.

In 1995, his brother Thomas, younger by two years, was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

He died in 2004, just days after his 20th birthday.

For Sam, horse-racing helped him through his grief.

In 2005, he unexpectedly won at the Cheltenham Festival, riding his father's horse Libertine.

And in 2011, he also won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on another of his father's horses, Long Run.

Sam, however, is quick to deny his match-making powers and play down his part in the history of Britain's most celebrated couple.  Sam is pictured with his wife Annabel Ballin at the William and Kate's wedding in 2011