"Do You Take Medicare?" Approximately 25% of our practice is composed of medicare patients. While we do not accept "assignment", we will bill medicare for you electronically and you will be reimbursed directly by medicare. If you have met your deductible, your overall costs for your eye services will be the same.

"At what age should my child get his/her first eye exam?" The short answer is, before they enter school. However, there is now a major push by most eye doctors to have an exam by age one, in order to detect potentially serious eye problems. We have examined children as young as six months of age.

"Why do I need my eyes dilated?" Dilation (using drops to make the pupil larger) enables an eye doctor to see most of the back of your eye in "stereo" and can reveal problems that would be missed without dilation.

"Why do I need to get my eyes examined yearly before I can order contact lenses?" In 2004, the Federal Government passed legislation that requires periodic eye exams in order to have contact lenses prescribed for a patient. The standard of care for contact lens wearers has become yearly eye checkups, to ensure that the contacts are not in anyway adversely affecting the eye. Contact lenses are considered by to be a "medical device" by the Federal Government and thus subject to prescription regulations.

"How frequently should I get my eyes examined?" In general, we recommend yearly for children under 18, because these are the years when changes in vision can be rapid and dramatic. Up until age 65, we recommend every 1-1/2 years, and after 65, yearly exams. This applies to routine care, and not for those individuals who have eye conditions that require more frequent monitoring, such as cataracts or glaucoma.

"Will my Transition lenses (lenses that lighten & darken) work in my car?" No. The activation process for all photo-chromatic lenses involves ultra-violet light, which is absorbed by the windshield of your car. Sunglasses, or clip-ons, are the best option for reducing glare while driving.

"Will my cataracts damage my eyes?" No. Cataracts are normal and age-related. While cataracts can cause blurred vision, they will not damage your eyes and thus surgery is usually deferred until vision is significantly blurred.

"Which are better - progressive lenses or bifocals?" Neither. Both have pluses & minuses. Most people prefer progressive lenses because they do not have a line in them and because they focus at all distances; unlike a bi-focal which will focus for distance and reading only. An advantage for a bi-focal is that the reading area can be made quite large, to accommodate those who need an extra wide reading area.