Dental - Am I missing anything?

My 12 yo cat is scheduled for to have two teeth extracted tomorrow.   This is the first time he's had to have any dental procedure done, and I just wanted

to check if there was anything preventative that I can work on that I might not be aware of.

He has had dental dry food in the past, how effective that is I don't know, but is currently on mostly wet food.

I've been trying the brushing with the cat toothpaste and brush.  He does not like his mouth being touched at all, so it's very slow going.  He likes the toothpaste which is a good thing, even though I can't really apply it to his teeth. I'm at the stage where he will lick it off the brush and sometimes gnaw on the brush a bit.   Will have to keep trying.

From what I've read, there wasn't much benefit to the products that you add to food or water?  Any of those worth attempting as 'better than nothing' option?  I just realised there is a dental spray available that goes directly onto the teeth.  Would this be a better option?

He's eating some raw chunks of meat (again slow going), however has not even shown remote interest in chicken necks I have offered.  I will try to chicken wings and gizzards.  How often would he need to eat these for it to be effective?  Either way, I'm not confident he'll ever want to eat meat with bone in it.  Any tips for making it more enticing?

I have ordered some CET chews, which I could only find overseas so they may not make it through customs.   I haven't seen any chews from cats here in Australia.

Anything else  I can try?  The vet said one of the cavities was internal, moving from the inside out and the brushing would probably not have helped that.  So maybe it's just older age, but I really want to do everything possible to keep his teeth in the best shape. Also if anyone has any advice for post-teeth removal care I'd be really interested. 

Thanks for indulging me with my millions of questions...

It's common for older kitties to have teeth problems.  I think wet food will be the way to go with him.  Once he's had his teeth extracted and recovered, he'll eat better.

Wow. 12 years old and first dental. You lucky cat you. Dental caries are a natural part of aging. Bacteria form plaque or a bio film and interlock to cover the teeth. Brushing the teeth disrupts the interlocking process. Short of brushing the teeth theres not a proven method to stop this from happening. However at twelve years old, it sounds like she's just got really good teeth to begin with and I can't see this being an ongoing issue for you.

He ended up having three teeth removed.  It went fine though and he bounced back quickly, and was basically normal from the next day.  It doesn't seem to effect how/what he eats.   His other teeth are doing fine they said so I'll try just to keep the maintenance going as best I can.

The only complication has been that over the last three days he has thrown up after being given the antibiotic prescribed.  I've been told to stop them for now, so we'll see what happens.