FAQs

All children should have an eye exam, beginning at 6 months of age. Through the InfantSEE program, we offer complimentary eye exams for children between the ages of 6 to 12 months. Your child may not complain about, or be aware of, any visual symptoms. However, a comprehensive eye exam is the only way to ensure your child is seeing as clearly as possible.

Some learning issues have been linked to vision issues, and sometimes problems with school performance, attention, coordination, and depth perception could result from an undiagnosed eye condition.

While vision screenings are an excellent way for school systems to identify abnormalities in your child’s vision, they do not check for eye health problems. They also do not check for more complicated binocular vision problems that may affect learning, especially reading.

A comprehensive eye health and vision exam is the only way to accurately detect problems that may affect your child’s visual performance.

The length of your eye exam depends on your specific visual needs. An eye exam can range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on what the doctor finds during the examination.

Optomap retinal imaging, which in some cases can eliminate the need for a dilated eye exam, can significantly reduce the total time of the examination.

Depending on your visual needs, during your exam will evaluate the health function of the following:

• Eye muscles (strabismus, otherwise known as “lazy eye”)
• Vinocular vision (how your eyes work together as a team)
• Accommodation (how well your eyes focus)
• Visual acuity and refraction (the test to determine your prescription)
• Color vision
• Stereo vision (depth perception)
• Pupils
• Intraocular pressure (glaucoma)
• Cornea (especially important for contact lens wearers)
• Crystalline lens (cataracts)
• Retina (macular degeneration, diabetes, and other retinal problems)
• Optic nerve head (glaucoma)
• Peripheral vision

Yes, our doctors are therapeutically trained to diagnose and treat most types of ocular disease, eye infections, and emergencies.

Doctors of optometry are trained to examine, diagnose, treat, and manage eye or vision disorders. They detect and diagnose eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal disorders, lid disorders, and infections such as conjunctivitis. They prescribe oral and topical medications to treat eye diseases. Optometrists provide pre- and post-operative care for glaucoma, laser, refractive, and cataract patients.

Optometrists’ training includes attending a university for their undergraduate degree and 4 additional years of optometry school. To earn their doctoral degree, they concentrate specifically on the structure, function, and disorders of the eye.

While concentrating on the eye and visual system, optometrists also study general health in the human body. In addition to their formal, doctorate-level training, all optometrists participate in ongoing continuing education courses to stay current on the latest standards of care and to maintain their licenses to practice.

Optometry is one of the only doctoral-level health care professions to require continuing education in every state for license renewal.

Ophthalmologists spend 4 years studying the body and its systems to earn their doctorate of medicine. They spend, on average, 3 years in an ophthalmology residency. Ophthalmologists diagnose and treat eye diseases just like optometrists but are also trained to perform eye surgery.

An optician is a person who is specifically trained in the fitting and adjusting of eyewear. Most of our opticians are American Board of Opticianry (ABO) certified and regularly attend continuing education classes to keep up-to-date on the newest technologies.

Contact lenses must be carefully fitted and matched to your needs and eyes. Therefore, we will need to perform a comprehensive vision and health exam and take measurements to fit your eyes with contact lenses properly. We will always ensure that you are comfortable handling your lenses before we prescribe them and provide you with written instructions as well.

New or established patients can order their contacts online!

Astigmatism is a common vision condition. It is caused when the front surface of the eye, called the cornea, is not perfectly round. As a result, light is focused differently in the eye, leading to blurred vision. Contact lenses that correct astigmatism are called torics, and they come in both soft and gas permeable contact lens materials.

In addition, small amounts of astigmatism may be corrected with a regular, non-toric contact lens.

Significant improvements have been made in contact lens materials. In the past, many patients with dry eyes could not tolerate contact lenses. Now, they can be fitted with numerous new types of contacts, especially ones that contain the newest polymers.

These molecules attach to water, allowing the lens to resist deposits and function better. In addition, a regimen of warm compresses, artificial tears, and possibly prescription eye drops are beneficial to the contact lens wearer with dry eye.

Our team at Sokol Advanced EyeCare will instruct you on the insertion and removal of your contact lenses before you take them home. Written instructions are also provided to ensure that proper care and technique are continued.

Glasses are most definitely necessary, even if you have contacts. In the case of an eye infection or scratched eye, you would not be able to wear your contact lenses. A backup pair of glasses (with the most recent prescription) would be the only form of correction that would allow you to see properly until the eye problem has been resolved. It is also healthier for your eyes to go without your contact lenses for at least half an hour in the morning and 1–2 hours in the evening.

Multiple factors determine if you are a candidate for LASIK surgery. These include the amount and stability of your prescription, the thickness and shape of your corneas, age, and your history of eye diseases. If, for whatever reason, you do not meet these criteria, there are alternatives to LASIK surgery that we can discuss with you during your appointment.

Most medical and vision insurance plans cover one routine eye exam annually—this may be the case even if you have a high deductible plan. Routine eye exams usually fall under the “preventative care clause” of your health plan, meaning deductibles often do not apply.

Unfortunately, this is not true for all health plans. It is best to call your insurance company in advance to be aware of your coverage. We can also call your insurance company on your behalf before your appointment to verify your insurance coverage.

Please visit our insurance & payment information page for a list of accepted providers.

Yes, we collect all co-pays (if applicable) and balances on the day you are seen.