Many people believe that “glasses” are still made of glass, but in reality, most lenses are constructed of various types of plastic. Although glass is always an option, most people opt for plastic due to glass’ weight and potential to shatter. Below you’ll find a comparison of the various kinds of plastic options available on the market.
Typically, when your insurance says they “cover” the lenses, this is the material they mean. It is not shatter-resistant, nor is it UV-protective.
Introduced in the 1980s, polycarbonate has been the gold-standard of lens materials ever since. It is both UV-protective and shatter-resistant, making it an excellent option for daily wear.
Specifically designed to solve the clarity issue of polycarbonate lenses, trivex is the best of all worlds, currently.
The index of the lens describes the lens’ ability to refract light. The higher the index, the less material is needed to create a lens that will correct the patient’s vision. This translates to thinner and lighter lenses.
While this may sound like an obvious choice for those with high prescriptions, high index lenses do have drawbacks. The most significant one is that they are not shatter-resistant. Especially for children, this factor should be weighed carefully since children are especially prone to breaking their glasses. Additionally, some patients experience visual distortion due to the way light travels through the lens. However, this can usually be mitigated with anti-reflective coating.
In addition to many options for lens materials, you will also have several choices for lens coatings and treatments. At Family Eye Care, we will guide you through these options so you can rest assured you are making a well-informed choice that will maximize the visual quality of your lenses.
Anti-reflective coatings reduce the glare on your lenses. Glare is both fatiguing and can make nighttime driving difficult due to the glare of other vehicle’s headlights.
We recommend the highest quality anti-reflective coatings to ensure their longevity. There are many different qualities of anti-reflective coatings on the market, and affect things such as durability, clean-ability, scratch resistance, and warranty.
When sun-reactive lenses are exposed to UV light, they turn from clear to dark. The most well-known brand is Transitions, and some people use this brand name interchangeably for all types of sun-reactive lenses, although it is important to note you have several other brand options as well.
Although they are similar to sunglasses in their ability to protect your eyes from UV rays, they are not a replacement for sunglasses necessarily. When behind the windows of your vehicle, for example, they will not react to the sunlight. They can be an excellent option though for those who find switching between their eyeglasses and sunglasses cumbersome, or who are light-sensitive.
When searching for sunglasses, one of the most common questions we get is, “What’s the difference between polarized and tinted lenses?”
Polarized lenses, on the other hand, provide anti-glare functionality to sunglasses through the use of a special chemical that filters light. You may have noticed that tinted sunglasses do little more than darken what you’re looking at, while it remains difficult to see due to objects that are reflecting light. Polarization fixes this problem because the applied chemical molecules are lined up in such a way that they block some of the incoming light while allowing other light to pass through the vertical “openings.” This means that the light reflecting off shiny horizontal surfaces like bodies of water or car hoods, for example, is blocked.
Polarized sunglass lenses do have their limitations, however. They are not ideal when viewing LCD screens, such as those on televisions, vehicle dashboards, phones, or ATMs. Because light needs to penetrate the lenses both vertically and horizontally for LCD screens to be seen properly, polarized lenses will make it difficult to see what is on those screens.
The blue light that comes from our many electronic devices is proving to be troublesome to both our health and comfort.
If you have questions about lens materials and coatings, please call Family Eye Care for an appointment today!