1. Be born (and stay in) the right part of the world, too. I'm fairly lucky to be in my 40s with all my wisdom teeth intact and zero cavities, in spite of not

1. Be born (and stay in) the right part of the world, too. I'm fairly lucky to be in my 40s with all my wisdom teeth intact and zero cavities, in spite of not flossing, never seeing a dentist, and only brushing once a day with a plain toothbrush. That is clearly genetic, since out of my entire immediate family, one sister has had one cavity and that is it for all 6 of us. But we've always lived in first-world cities with fluoride in the water. My ex-wife had impeccable dental health for a long time until she did a military deployment to Djibouti for 12 months, and came back with 8 cavities. In the 15 years since then, she's never gotten another.