Teeth cleaning!! How?

[Allthecatseverywhereallatonce]

Hi all I have a 6 year old Maine Coone and have tried and failed several times to clean her teeth. My vet has warned she will likely need a GA and teeth cleaning.
How on earth do you clean a cat's teeth? I had tried cat toothpaste on her paws, finger wipes but I cannot keep her still enough to clean them. Due to her size it is difficult and stressful trying to pin her down.

Any ideas? I am happy to pay for the vet to clean them, although,I would rather she didn't have to have a GA.
Does cat food contain additives that cause tooth decay?

Hello. My cat had a GA in Jan for scale and polish and also had three teeth removed. He's about 9 btw. His breath was ultra stinky and it has dramatically improved since the procedure.

Going forward the vet has recommended dry dental food and dental gel.

Not much luck with the gel but he loves the dental food - Hill's. I feed him wet food on the whole but I've been giving him some dry dental food every day.

He's not had another dental check-up yet so I don't know if the dry food is working.

Brushing does seem daunting even though he's a very chill cat.

If the vet is already warning the cat needs a dental, I would just give up and let them crack on.

If she needs a dental then she already has plaques of tartar which even if a miracle happens and she becomes a happy tooth brusher, you aren't going to be able to brush them off.

No way am I cleaning either of my cats' teeth, both of them are scary and bite like they mean it. Eventually if it is bad they can have their GA and dental.

A vet suggested to me that I brush my cats teeth 4 x a week.

Now, she lets me brush her as she enjoys it.
But she basically has a proper panic attack if I try to do anything else. So it's not happening.