Cousins Jason Fretwell and Kurt Schramm have developed the ToothBrush Buddy, which is being tested by the NHS and has been launched on the high street.
The innovation, which has been patented, works by placing a toothbrush upside down into an e
nclosed container of sterile cleaning fluid after use so it can't be attacked by bacteria which live and breed between bristles.
Toothbrushes are kept in individual containers to minimise the spread of infections.
Mr Fretwell, 38, and Mr Schramm, 39, have established Schramm+Fretwell to market the product.
Mr Fretwell, who has given up his job as an advertising copywriter to concentrate on the venture, said the inspiration for the product came when he went into the bathroom one morning and saw that his cousin's toothbrush was covered in flies.
Mr Fretwell said that toothbrushes kept in the same glass or holder spread germs and that bacteria involved in the cause of tooth decay and gum disease were readily transferred from individuals to toothbrushes together with more serious infections including colds and influenza, cold sores and gastro-enteritis.
Mr Fretwell said the NHS was currently testing the product, which is produced in Elland, West Yorkshire, and Darlington.
He said Schramm+Fretwell believed the product could help to cut hospital infections.
It is also being sold in selected branches of Lloyds pharm- acies.
"We're not a family of neurotics who wash our hands 100 times a day and sleep in oxygen tents," said Mr Fretwell.
"We just happen to believe that putting a clean germ-free toothbrush in your mouth is a better idea than using one that's riddled with bacteria.
"We knew that this was a problem that needed a solution but it wasn't until we research- ed dental hygiene that we realised just how dangerous it could be."
