Soft tissue
Laser medicine: medicine and especially dentistry have found many new uses for diode lasers. The shrinking size and cost of the units and their increasing user friendliness makes them very attractive to clinicians for minor soft tissue procedures. Diode wavelengths range from 810 to 1,100 nm, are poorly absorbed by soft tissue, and are not used for cutting or ablation. Soft tissue is not cut by the laser's beam, but is instead cut by contact with a hot charred glass tip. The laser's irradiation is highly absorbed at the distal end of the tip and heats it up to 500 °C to 900 °C. Because the tip is so hot, it can be used to cut soft-tissue and can cause hemostasis through cauterization and carbonization. Diode lasers when used on soft tissue can cause extensive collateral thermal damage to surrounding tissue.