I suffer from chronic gum issues. One medical professional strongly recommended the water pik and I used it for a couple years. My current periodontist says it's fine, but you can get the same benefits from flossing more frequently. She also cautioned--if you do use a waterpik be sure to use it horizontally, rather than aiming the stream of water into up (or down) into the gums. You can force small bits of seeds, crumbs, etc in there, and they can get lodged and cause infections or other problems.