AHMEDABAD: As one of the leading milk-producing and consuming states, Gujarat loves its dairy products - ranging from milk and buttermilk to delicacies such as peda, shrikhand and kheer to name a few. All this milk is showing in the teeth!A Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) study has indicated the calcium content in teeth of a person from Gujarat is higher compared to southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The study compared stratified samples from Gujarat and Kerala - among top and bottom states in terms of per capita milk consumption - to see if the diet has any major impact on tooth composition."The Gujarati population under study showed 82% calcium than Kerala counterparts which had 80% calcium in their teeth composition. A 2% deviation is very significant in teeth," says Dr Rajesh Babu, assistant professor with GFSU who along with Dr Abhinav Raj, a masters student in forensic odontology, undertook the study as part of humanitarian forensics."In case of a calamity, it is difficult to ascertain identity of a person - dead or alive - and thus we decided to concentrate on teeth. Teeth can withstand heavy pressure and even fire and thus can become perfect samples as biomarkers in any scenario for primary identification," said Dr Babu.On the flip side, predominantly vegetarian diet was reflected in lesser presence of metals such as zinc and phosphorous mainly found in meat, fish and other non-vegetarian food. The numbers in Gujarat were 0.14% and 17.3% for zinc and phosphorous compared to 0.23% and 18.5% in Kerala.The researchers pointed at National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) statistics where Gujarat's per capita milk availability of 563 grams per day is higher compared to Kerala's 189 grams/ day. For TN and Karnataka, the figures are 294 grams/ day and 291 grams/ day respectively as per 2017-18 survey."Sample analysis revealed calcium content was higher in Gujaratis than Malyalis. While a wider study is required to substantiate it but we can say that the top states with higher milk consumption such as Punjab and Haryana would have the statistics close to Gujarat whereas several southern states would have lower calcium content," said Dr Babu, adding that Strontium was also found more in Gujarati population.A similar study is underway to get comparative value of Andhra Pradesh population vis-a-vis the current study, said GFSU officials as AP falls in the middle segment as far as per capita milk consumption is concerned.