Buying glasses online or from a big box supplier may seem convenient and cost-saving, but buying directly from your local optometrist offers certain benefits. For example, you can get a comprehensive eye exam done in the same appointment. You can also benefit from a custom fitting, professional advice, and a selection of products whose quality is backed by your eye care team.
Modern eyewear offers a large variety of options, from lens coatings to frame materials. Understanding all this can be overwhelming, but having an optometrist by your side can help you better understand your prescription and eye health.
What to Know About Buying Eyeglasses Online
To quote the Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO), “When ordering glasses online, you are in essence taking on the role of a trained optical dispenser.”
Getting glasses goes beyond handing over your prescription to a retailer. Eye care professionals take detailed measurements (e.g., pupillary distance) and make critical decisions (e.g., the curvature of lenses).
Improperly fitted eyewear can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as:
- Eyestrain
- Nausea and dizziness
- Headaches
- Pain, pressure, and discomfort around the eyes and nose
The CAO recommends that children, people with complex or high prescriptions, and those with multifocal prescriptions visit an optometrist for their eyewear.
In fact, there’s far more to fitting glasses than just measuring your pupillary distance (PD). According to the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO), trained optical dispensers take into account many key measurements to ensure glasses provide clear, comfortable vision. These include:
- Your interpupillary distance (PD), measured for both distance and near tasks, ensures that the lenses align correctly with your line of sight
- The positioning of the optical centres (OC) of your lenses to reduce strain and visual distortion
- Frame-related measurements like lens tilt, wrap angle, and vertex distance, which help optimize lens performance and personalize your vision correction
- Choosing the best lens material and refractive index based on your prescription strength and lifestyle needs
- Selecting the correct base curve to minimize distortion, especially important when each eye has a different curvature
- Ensuring the frame fits your facial structure comfortably, which includes the right eye size, bridge width, temple length, and frame shape and material
- A final quality check to confirm your lenses were fabricated accurately and that the frame fits your face for optimal clarity and comfort
Why Buy Eyeglasses from Your Optometrist
When you buy glasses from your local optometry clinic, you don’t just benefit from one-on-one professional attention from your optometrist. You also benefit from the clinic’s eye care team, including opticians who know how to adjust eyewear for fit.
1. One Stop Shop
Optometry clinics that also sell eyewear offer a one-stop-shop solution. First, get a comprehensive eye exam from the optometrist and receive a personalized prescription. Next, shop in the same place and get experienced advice from opticians, who can then adjust the frames you choose to fit your face.
It’s important to understand that a sight test is not the same as a comprehensive eye exam. Typically performed by automated equipment, sight tests do not replace the need for a licensed optometrist. Eye exams are important because many eye conditions do not show noticeable symptoms until they reach a stage that’s more difficult to treat. Exams can also detect underlying health conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
The CAO recommends adults ages 20 to 64 receive an eye exam every other year. School-aged children should get their eyes checked annually. Other guidelines exist for other age groups.
2. Professional and Experienced Advice
Visiting an optometry clinic for your prescription eyewear gives you in-person access to a team of experienced professionals:
- Optometrists: In Alberta, optometrists have a Bachelor of Science degree followed by a Doctor of Optometry degree. They can prescribe certain medications and diagnose and treat many eye conditions. If you require surgery or specialist care, optometrists can refer you to an ophthalmologist.
- Opticians: While opticians don’t write prescriptions or treat eye conditions, they are trained to perform important measurements, adjust frames, and clean and polish lenses.
A real conversation with eye care professionals can help you understand your eye health and prescription more deeply. The eye care team can also gain a deeper understanding of you and any unique needs you may have, such as eyewear requirements for certain activities.
3. Professional Fitting
A proper eyewear fit goes beyond accurate prescription powers. When you buy glasses from an optometry clinic, the eye care team can also:
- Measure your pupillary distance
- Help you choose a suitable lens material and lens coating
- Make informed choices on lens curvature, height of the optical centre, multifocal lens measurements, and more
- Adjust the fit of your glasses using professional tools
Getting your glasses fitted in person with all these elements in place offers a more personalized experience.
In addition to these, optometric optical staff can assess more subtle but critical details such as lens tilt, vertex distance, and frame wrap to maximize your lens performance and comfort. They also evaluate base curves to manage lens magnification and consider your facial structure when selecting the most appropriate frame dimensions and materials.
4. Prescription Accuracy
Online retailers sometimes require you to input your prescription yourself, creating a higher likelihood of mistakes. An inaccurate prescription or measurement can lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as eyestrain or headaches.
Buying glasses from your optometry clinic means an experienced, professional eye care team takes care of your prescription’s accuracy. So, instead of worrying about making mistakes, you can channel your energy towards picking frames that suit your style!
5. A Certain Level of Quality
If you shop directly from an optometrist, you can assume that an eye care professional stands behind the quality of the products they sell.
Think about it: you wear your glasses every day. They need to be resilient to wear and tear, and whatever tasks you require them for on a daily basis. Based on discussions about your lifestyle during your eye exam, your optometrist can also advise you on whether to add features like blue light filtering, scratch-resistant coatings, and anti-reflective coatings.
6. Ongoing Support
Buying glasses from your eye care provider helps build an ongoing relationship. When your optometrist knows you and your health history, repairs and follow-up care can be simpler because the clinic already knows your story. Many optometry clinics also offer warranties and repair services.
A Local Optometry Clinic With On-Site Finishing Lab
Need new glasses? With an on-site finishing lab, Vision for Life Eyecare offers in-house eyewear services that eliminate the need for long waiting periods. In many cases, we can provide a 1-hour service if we have the lenses in stock, or if you are putting updated lenses in your own frame. With locations in Ponoka, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Hanna, and Coronation, our eye care team strives to provide comprehensive eye care and eyewear services to the Alberta communities we call home. Book an appointment today and experience eye care from local optometrists.
