Contact Lenses

Dr. Thompson, Dr. Donati, and Dr. Peddle fit contact lenses for all ages. Even though contacts are not for everyone, there is a wide range of prescriptions and materials available. We offer contacts for those who are farsighted, shortsighted (myopic), have astigmatism and for those who require bifocals.

Monthly soft contacts are the most commonly fitted contacts in our practice because they are good for the health of the eye at a reasonable price. One day disposables, toric disposable lenses, are sometimes prescribed to solve specific vision, comfort problems or eye health problems that need to be addressed.

A contact lens prescription is not the same as an eye glass prescription due to the distance the lens is from the eye, flexure of the lens on the eye, and movement of the lens. An eyeglass prescription is provided after a routine eye examination; however a contact lens fitting is required to provide a contact lens prescription.

How Fitting Your Contact Lens Works

The first step in the contact lens fitting process is a comprehensive eye exam to determine if you are a candidate for contacts. Assuming your prescription is suitable for contacts and the eyes are healthy, including a good tear film to support the contact lens, Dr Thompson or Dr. Donati proceed to trial fitting.

The contact lens prescription is calculated and the appropriate lenses are inserted on each eye. After these lenses have settled down (5 to 15 minutes), the lens fit and vision is evaluated.

The next step is to teach you how to insert/remove and care for your lenses. Tips regarding initial wearing schedule, cleaning of the lenses, use of eye drops, etc. will be taught during this training period.

Once you have learned the proper care regimen, we then schedule an appointment in one week to evaluate the lens fit. You wear your new contacts to each progress visit. At that first progress check the lens fit will be assessed for vision, comfort, and eye health. If necessary, Dr. Thompson may make modifications to the lens design, or change the solutions used to care for the lenses at any time in the fitting process. He will also advise you to increase your wearing schedule, assuming everything is proceeding well. If more visits are required, they will be scheduled at no extra charge. These visits are included in the initial fitting fee.

Since our clinic belongs to a buying group, we have access to the contact lenses of all manufacturers, allowing us to fit exactly the lens you need. When both the doctor and you are satisfied with the contacts, you then can purchase a supply of lenses. We recommend a one year’s supply of lenses which will save you time and money.

If you are a current contact lens wearer and you need to be refitted with a newer type of lens, we will be happy to do that at a reduced fee, since there is much less instruction for those who need to be refitted compared to those who are first time fits. If you are just reordering lenses, there is no refitting fee. You pay only for the cost of the lenses.

Cosmetic tints are available in many, but not all prescriptions. Ask our staff about the colours that we offer. These lenses can cause blur in some patients, therefore a refit is required if you currently wear non-tinted lenses.

Please call us if you have any questions about whether you might be a suitable candidate for contact lenses.