Glasses & Lenses
Eyeglass Frames Styles
Eyeglasses are more popular today than ever! Frame styles branded with high profile designer names are always in demand. Eyeglasses have also become quite popular as fashion accessories, with different colors and styles available to match their wardrobes.
Multi-colored inlays, composite materials, designer emblems, and enhancements such as insets of precious stones may also be found in popular frame styles.
Rimless styles have become more popular in recent years as an understated way to wear eyeglasses without obvious frames. Rimless styles mainly involve attaching plastic or metal temples directly onto the lenses rather than onto a frame.
Your appearance, personal taste and lifestyle should all be considered when choosing eyeglasses. We can help you choose frames and lenses that both complement your appearance and meet your lifestyle needs.
Our Eyewear Brands
Eyeglass Frame Materials
Eyeglass frame materials have evolved with the advent of new plastics and various types of metals. For safety glasses, you may want an extra tough plastic, such as polycarbonate. If you suffer from skin allergies, hypoallergenic metals such as titanium or stainless steel are good choices.
Certain frames are made with highly flexible metal alloys, which reduce the possibility of breakage. Spring hinges are also for added durability, and are a great option for children’s eyewear.
Eyeglass Lenses
You also have many options when choosing the lenses for your eyeglasses. Among the most popular types of lenses and lens options prescribed today are:
- Anti-reflective coatings are among the most popular add-ons for lenses. They can dramatically improve the look and comfort of your glasses by minimizing the amount of light that reflects off the surface of your lenses, which also has the added benefit of reducing glare and thus easing eye fatigue, espically under low-light conditions.
- Aspheric lenses, which have a slimmer, more attractive profile than other lenses. They also eliminate that magnified, “bug-eye” look caused by some prescriptions.
- Blue Blocking Lenses block out the harmful blue that that comes off artificial lighting, computers and other digital devices. Blue light is the most toxic to the lens and retina in the eye. It has also been shown to affect you circadian rhythm (sleep cycle).
- High index lenses are made of new materials that enable the lenses to be up to 50% thinner and lighter than regular plastic lenses.
- Mirror Coatings are reflective optical coating (also called flash coatings) on the outside of the lenses. These further decrease the amount of light passing through the tinted lens by up to 60%, making them useful for conditions with sand, water, snow and higher altitudes.
- Polycarbonate lenses are thinner, lighter and up to 10 times more impact-resistant than regular plastic lenses. These lenses are great for safety glasses, children’s eyewear, and for anyone who wants lightweight, durable lenses.
- Photochromic (transition) lenses automatically darken into sunglasses when you go outside and then quickly return to a clear state indoors.
- Polarized lenses diminish glare from flat, reflective surfaces (like water) and also reduce eye fatigue.
- Scratch-resistant coatings Although no eyeglass lens material is scratch-proof, a lens treated front and back with a clear, hard scratch-resistant coating does become significantly more resistant to scratching.
- Ultraviolet Blocking treatment in eyeglass lenses blocks rays from the sun that contribute to cataracts, retinal damage and eyelid cancers.
Single Vision Eyeglass Lenses
Single vision lenses are a type of glasses lens that correct vision for a single distance. That means that they work for people that have Myopia (nearsightnesss), Hyperopia (farsighted) and Asitgmatism who are under 40 years old.
Myopia (Nearsightedness)
If you are nearsighted, you will have difficulty reading road signs and seeing distant objects clearly, but will be able to see well for close-up tasks such as reading and computer use. Other signs and symptoms of myopia include squinting, eye strain, headaches and fatigue when driving or playing sports.
Hyperopia (Farsightedness)
People with hyperopia can see distant objects very well, but have difficulty focusing on objects that are up close. Farsighted people sometimes have headaches or eye strain and may squint or feel fatigued when performing work at close range.
Astigmatism
Astigmatism usually causes vision to be blurred or distorted to some degree at all distances. Some of its symptoms are eye strain, headaches, squinting and eye irritation. Astigmatism is usually caused by an irregularly shaped cornea. Instead of the cornea having a symmetrically round shape like a basketball, it is shaped more like a football, with one meridian being significantly more curved than the meridian perpendicular to it.
Multifocal Eyeglass Lenses
When you reach Presbyopia (around 40 years old), the usual type of eyeglass lenses you’ve likely been accustomed to wearing, known as single vision lenses, no longer will work well for you. Multifocal eyeglass lenses will be required.
Multifocal eyeglass lenses available for presbyopia correction include:
- Bifocals: Lenses with two powers – one for distance and one for near – separated by a visible line.
- Trifocals: Lenses with three powers for seeing at varying distances – near, intermediate and far – separated by two visible lines.
- Progressive Lenses: These lenses have many advantages over bifocals and trifocals because they allow the wearer to focus at many different distances, not just two or three. Because they have no lines, progressive lenses allow a smooth, comfortable transition from one distance to another.
Presbyopia
When you reach 40 years old, the lens inside the eye gets stiff. In turn, you may notice the need to hold reading material, like your cell phone, farther from you to see it clearly. This condition is called “presbyopia.”
Optikam and Digital Free-Form Lenses
Think about the first time you saw high-definition television. Remember how it made your old analog TV picture seem dull and blurry? Now imagine having the same experience with your eyeglasses. Sure, you can probably see fine with the ones you have, just like watching analog TV was fine when that was all you had.
Traditional progressive lenses are produced using pre-molded templates and the same design is used for every wearer. Digital Free-Form lenses are customized for each wearer’s prescription. Free-Form is a digital manufacturing process that uses computer-aided design and manufacturing to create customized eyeglass lenses. Think of it as a tailor for your lenses. Just like you can take an off-the-rack pair of pants and have it customized to fit your specific measurements, you can now have lenses customized for your specific prescription and frames. These lenses provide:
- Sharpened vision
- Brighter colors
- Improved contrast
- The widest field of view possible
- Better peripheral vision
- Reduced glare and halos night
Specialty Eyewear
Just as “one-size-fits-all” doesn’t always fit, neither does one pair of eyeglasses for all situations.
Whether you want optimum vision and comfort for a specific activity, such as computer use, work, hobbies or driving, or you need glasses that provide an extra margin of safety for work or recreation, special-purpose eyeglasses will usually meet these needs better than your “everyday” glasses.
We’re Here to Help!
With so many new lens products available, it’s hard to know all your options and decide which lenses are best for you. Rely on our expertise to make selecting your eyeglasses easy and fun. Our trained staff welcomes the opportunity to help you find the perfect eyewear for your personal style and vision requirements.
Our Glasses’ & Lenses’ Specialists: Dr. Emily Felouzis, Dr. Sarah Flanagan, Dr. Sharon Berger Moscow, Dr. Michelle Moscow, Dr. Scott Moscow, Dr. William “Billy” Moscow, Dr. Ashleigh Sprouse
