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Re: Digital Progressive Lenses
Diane wrote:
I have been wearing progressive eye glasses for a number of years and have always purchased them from my optometrist. However, for the past few years, I have found the choice of frames to be limited and have not been happy with the choices I ended up making. I have now changed my optometrist, due to relocation, but am finding the same problem with choice of frames at her establishment. My optometrist has prescribed "Progressive Additional, digitally surfaced' lenses. As these are very expensive, I want to be sure I get good frames that I am happy with. I have always been dubious about going somewhere other than my optometrist (an optician or chain store for example) to purchase my glasses. Am I being unnecessarily cautious and can I be sure I would get the quality of lens I would get from my optometrist?
Canadian Association of Optometrists's response:
Diane, I am very surprised that you have found that your optometrists do not have a good selection of frames. Most optometrists have a very up to date and wide selection of frames for patients to choose from. You are right that glasses from an optometrist’s office will be of the highest quality. They know your eyes the best so will know what type of lens will work the best for you. If you have any problems with the glasses they would be able to diagnose and solve the problem quickly and efficiently. I would not advocate getting glasses anywhere besides your optometrist. However if you are going to get them somewhere else you do need to be extremely careful about what you are getting. There are literally hundreds of different types of progressive lenses on the market today. Some of these are thirty years old and will not work nearly as well as the new progressive lenses of today, which are called digitally surfaced, customized or free-form. To ensure you are getting the best vision these newer types of progressive lenses give a wider field of clear vision and diminished distortions in the periphery of the lens. Of course lenses that are thirty years old will be a lot less expensive than the newest technology. I hope this helps. Dr. Carol Doman
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