Your frames are half the story. HD digital progressives, Essilor Varilux, high index materials and premium anti reflective coatings, chosen for your prescription and how you actually use your vision.
Two pairs of glasses made to an identical prescription can produce noticeably different vision. The number on the prescription determines the correction. The lens design, material and coatings determine how much of that correction you actually get, and how comfortable it is to live with.
This matters most with progressives. A basic progressive squeezes three prescriptions into one lens using a generic mould, which produces narrow clear corridors and soft edges you have to work around by moving your head. A digitally surfaced lens calculated for your prescription and your frame does the same job with far wider usable zones.
It is also where people are most often oversold, or undersold. The aim here is that you understand the options well enough to decide, which sometimes means being told the cheaper lens is the right one.
The single most common cause of disappointing glasses is not the lens grade. It is measurement and fitting, both of which are easy to rush and impossible to correct afterwards without remaking the lens.
Measured on your face, in your frame Pupil position is measured in the frame you have actually chosen, since where your eyes sit relative to the lens determines where the clear zones fall.
Fitting height matters most with progressives A few millimetres out and the reading zone sits too high or too low. It is the usual reason progressives never feel right, and it is correctable.
Checked against the prescription on collection Lenses are verified before you take them away, and the frame is adjusted on your face so it sits where the measurements assumed it would.
Come back if it is not right Adjustments and minor repairs are handled at the clinic. Persistent trouble with new progressives is usually fitting height rather than the prescription.
Progressives correct distance, intermediate and near vision in a single lens with no visible line. How well they do it varies enormously by design.
Made from semi-finished blanks using conventional surfacing. Narrower clear corridors and more peripheral softness, so more head movement is needed to find the sweet spot. Adequate for moderate prescriptions and undemanding use, and the least expensive option.
Free-form surfacing calculates and grinds the lens digitally to your exact prescription rather than using a generic mould. Wider clear zones, less peripheral blur and generally faster adaptation, with the biggest gains for complex prescriptions and astigmatism. Dr. Mungar's recommended standard.
The most established progressive design in the world. The current X-Series is engineered around the way people actually use their eyes now, with a wider intermediate zone for phones and tablets and less head movement required to find clear vision.
Optimised for the 40 to 100 cm range of a desk rather than for distance. A much larger intermediate and reading zone makes screen work far more comfortable. Worth considering for anyone at a computer more than four hours a day, alongside digital eye strain advice.
One prescription across the whole lens, for distance or reading. Digitally surfaced single vision is also available and gives sharper peripheral vision than conventional designs, which is noticeable in stronger prescriptions.
Still the right answer for some patients, particularly those who have worn them for decades and see no reason to change. The visible line is a trade off for a large, stable reading area.
Material determines thickness, weight and impact resistance. Stronger prescriptions benefit most, while mild prescriptions often gain very little from an upgrade.
Dr. Mungar recommends the index appropriate to your prescription rather than defaulting to the most expensive. In a mild prescription, high index adds cost without a difference you would see.
Coatings are where the everyday experience of wearing glasses is won or lost. One of them is worth it for almost everybody, and the rest depend on how you live.
The single most worthwhile addition to any pair of glasses. It removes the reflections that scatter light across the lens, which matters most driving at night, under office lighting and on screens. It also makes lenses look nearly invisible in photographs. Premium versions resist smudging and clean far more easily than budget coatings.
Standard on modern lenses and included as part of most coating packages. No lens is scratch proof, but a hard coat makes a real difference to how a lens looks after a year in and out of a bag.
Filters part of the high energy visible spectrum from screens and LED lighting. The evidence on eye damage is not settled, but many heavy screen users report less end of day fatigue, and it pairs well with an occupational lens.
Lenses that darken in sunlight and clear indoors, so one pair covers both. Worth knowing that most windscreens block the UV that triggers them, so they darken less in a car. Purpose made prescription sunglasses remain better for driving and time on the water.
Cumulative UV exposure contributes to cataracts and macular degeneration. Polycarbonate and most high index materials block UV inherently, and it can be added to those that do not.
Cuts reflected glare from roads, water and snow rather than simply reducing brightness. A genuine difference for driving, boating and skiing, and available in prescription sunglasses and Maui Jim lenses.
All day at a computer An occupational progressive with premium anti reflective and blue light filtering. The wider intermediate zone is what reduces the neck strain.
A lot of night driving Premium anti reflective is the priority, and it is not close. HD progressives also help by widening the clear zone where you need peripheral awareness.
Glasses for a child Polycarbonate for impact resistance, with UV protection built in. Durability matters more than thinness at this stage. See children's eye exams.
A strong prescription High index 1.67 or 1.74 with anti reflective. The thickness reduction is immediately visible, and thinner lenses open up more frame choices.
New to progressives An HD digital design. Adaptation is generally quicker and the wider corridors mean less of the swimming sensation that puts people off.
A lot of time outdoors Photochromic for general wear, or a dedicated pair of polarised prescription sunglasses if you drive or spend time on the water.
Standard progressives are surfaced conventionally from a limited range of semi-finished blanks. HD, or free-form, progressives are calculated and surfaced digitally to your exact prescription and frame.
The result is wider clear zones, less peripheral distortion and usually quicker adaptation. For most progressive wearers the upgrade is worth it, and the difference is largest in complex prescriptions.
Only if your prescription is strong enough to benefit. High index is generally worthwhile from around three to four dioptres upward.
Below that, standard plastic gives excellent optics at lower cost and is not noticeably thicker or heavier. We recommend the index that suits your prescription rather than defaulting to the most expensive.
For almost everyone, yes. It is the one upgrade we would recommend before any other. The reduction in glare when driving at night and under office lighting is immediately noticeable, and it makes lenses look nearly invisible in photographs.
Premium coatings also resist smudging and clean far more easily, which is the difference people actually notice day to day.
An occupational progressive with premium anti reflective and blue light filtering. The occupational design gives a much wider intermediate zone than a general purpose progressive, which is what reduces the neck craning and end of day fatigue.
Typically a week to two weeks for most prescriptions, longer for specialised designs, unusual prescriptions or lenses that need to be individually surfaced.
We will give you a realistic timeframe when you order rather than an optimistic one, and we will call you as soon as they arrive.
Because your eyes have to learn where the zones are. Most people adapt within a few days to a couple of weeks, and adaptation is generally quicker with HD digital designs.
If it is still not right after that, come back in. Persistent trouble usually means the fitting height needs adjusting rather than the prescription being wrong, and that is a straightforward fix.
Often yes, depending on the condition and shape of the frame. We will assess whether the frame is likely to survive being re-glazed before anything is ordered.
Older or brittle frames sometimes cannot be re-glazed safely, and we will tell you that rather than risk breaking a frame you like.
Honestly, the evidence that screen blue light damages the eye is not settled, and we are not going to claim otherwise.
What many patients do report is less end of day eye fatigue, and it costs relatively little to add. We treat it as a comfort option rather than a medical necessity, and we will say so.
The right lens makes a real difference to daily vision and comfort. Come in and we will talk through the options for how you actually use your eyes.
