It's true! The Tesco Value toothbrush is yours for 5p! To be fair, you have to buy two of them, so you're shelling out 10p, but if you have a spouse or a partner or like to keep a spare, then that's just fine.

Dentists and oral hygiene experts recomend that you change your toothbrush at least four times a year, and more often if you suffer from gum disease. Toothbrush manufacturers seem to capitalise on this by charging high prices - you can easily pay more than £2 for a toothbrush in many supermarkets. If you change one of these every three months, that's £8 - £32 for a family of four.

If you go for the Tesco Value Toothbrush, then a year's supply costs 20p per person.

Of course, being cheap is no earthly good unless the product works, so that's the acid test of this one.

A quick description first:

The TVT is 7.3 inches long, of which 4.6 inches constitutes the handle. The head is just over an inch long, with the brush area occupying 1 inch by 0.35 inches. The bristles are arranged in four columns of seven ranks, with an additional three-rank at either end. This means that its big enough to work effectively, but also small enough to reach the more difficult parts of the mouth. The bristles are available only in medium gauge, but I think that's the best - I used to go for hard toothbrushes, but they can more easily damage your gums if used too vigorously.

To help operation, there are small raised ridges to grip to the toothbrush by, when held by thumb and forefinger of either hand. These are comfortable to use and help prevent slipping, which could otherwise hurt your mouth. However, if you have to work at the very back of your mouth, these ridges can just ride over your lip, which is a tiny bit uncomfortable.

The plastic feels strong, but slightly flexible, and it feels like the TVT will last well. The surface is perfectly smooth, and easy to keep clean. The head has lasted well so far, and the performance on my teeth is good.

Of course, you can use toothbrushes for a variety of other cleaning purposes as well. We have cats at home, and so there are occasional little accidents to clear up - we always keep old toothbrushes to use with carpet cleaner, and the TVTs will see out their retirement phase in this way. You could buy a pack or two just for that purpose - at 10p a pack, why not?

The design is simple. After all, this is only a toothbrushand you don't want the whole world to see you in operation! Colour is white only. That could be a problem in a large family, but you could easily fix a label on by drilling through the handle, or simply rationalise storage.