الفهرس 
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Abstract
This in-vitro study aimed to evaluate theremineralizing effect of egg shell powder and novamine on initial caries-like lesions in young permanent teeth compared to fluoride.
The study was carried out on ninety six sound premolars extracted for orthodontic purpose. Teeth were randomly divided into three groups (32 teeth/ group) according to the type of the remineralizing agent used. Squares of self-adhesive labels 4x4 mm were placed at the center of the buccal surface of each tooth. All teeth surfaces were coated with acid-proof nail varnish. Then, the adhesives were removed exposing only a small window of enamel.
The crown of each tooth was separated from its root then each crown was longitudinally sectioned in a buccolingual direction through the center of the window into two halves; a mesial half and a distal one. Each half was considered as a specimen (192 specimens). One half was test and the other half remained untreated and served as control. Teeth were immersed in a demineralizing solution at 37°C for 72 hours in order to produce artificial carious lesions.
Specimens in subgroups IA, IIA and IIIA were treated with the remineralizing agents for 3 minutes once daily for 7 days. Then specimens were rinsed with distilled water and stored in artificial saliva. The control specimens of subgroups IB, IIB and IIIB were left untreated and stored in artificial saliva.
Enamel specimens in all groups were prepared for assessment of the caries like lesions. Half of the specimens were randomly selected for assessment by Vickers microhardness tester and the other half was assessed by Polarized light microscope.
The results revealed a significant increase in the mean enamel surface microhardness between subgroups IA (egg shell powder), IIA (novamine) and their controls (p=0.004 and p=0.001) respectively, while there was no statistically significant difference between subgroup IIIA (fluoride) and its control (p=0.54).
There was a statistically significant difference in mean percent difference of enamel microhardness between group I and III (P=0.014) and between group II and III (P=0.001), while there was no statistically significant difference between group I and group II (p=0.022).
There was a significant decrease in the mean lesion depth between subgroups IA (egg shell powder), IIA (novamine) and their controls (p<0.001), while there was no statistically significant difference between subgroup IIIA (fluoride) and its control (p=0.36).
There was no statistically significant difference in mean percent difference values of lesion depth among the three groups (P=0.15).
It was concluded that the use of egg shell powder and novamine can actually remineralize the initial caries-like lesions. It was also pointed out that egg shell powder and novamine achieved better results than fluoride.
Based on the results of the present study, it is recommended to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of egg shell powder and novamine compared to fluoride on the de/remineralization processes.