A comprehensive eye exam is an important part of your everyday wellness and preventative healthcare routine. With our Doctors of Optometry, we provide patients with a thorough, most-up-to-date and professional eye examination. During a complete eye exam, your eye doctor will not only determine your need for prescription eye glasses or contact lenses, but will also check all aspects of your ocular health, including early detection/co-management of eye diseases and certain, general health conditions.
The first part of a comprehensive eye exam will examine a patient’s eyes and visual systems for proper functions and abnormalities. This evaluation may include the following:
- A visual acuity test, using projected and handheld eye charts
- A colour blindness test
- A cover test, which the doctor uses to evaluate your eye muscles and binocular vision (how well both your eyes work together)
- An eye movement test with which our Doctors of Optometry evaluate how smoothly and quickly your eyes are able to follow an object or move between and focus on separate objects.
- A refraction test, using a phoropter to determine the patient’s corrective lens prescription.
The second part of a comprehensive eye exam is all about your ocular health. Our Optometrists will examine the internal and external structure of the eye, diagnose and help treat eye diseases, as well as co-manage certain health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. This evaluation may include the following:
- Pupil dilation and slit lamp examination to access the internal health of the eye.
- Retinal imaging for all patients and retinal scans by an Optical Coherence Tomography for patients 40 years and above. This is a non-invasive image test that depicts the individual layers of the retina.
- Computerized Visual Field test (For patients over 12 years old)
- Dry Eye management
- Glaucoma screening and co-management (including ocular pressure testing)
- Macular Degeneration diagnosis and co-management
- Cataract evaluation and diagnosis
- Diabetic retinopathy check
- Eyelid eyelash assessment, as well as assessing the skin immediately around the eyes
Referral to an Ophthalmologist (if required)
Our Doctors of Optometry are carefully educated, trained and equipped to diagnose and treat many eye diseases and eye conditions with diagnostic testing, treatment plans and prescribed oral and topical medications, such as eye drops, gels and ointments.
Pediatric Exams:
Eye examinations are essential to monitor early cognitive development in children and help prevent possible ocular complications in the future. Our Doctors of Optometry, recommend eye exams for infants as early as 6 months, to assess visual development and overall health of the eyes. As children grow and reach school age, eye examinations become a vital part in their general healthcare, making sure that their visual needs are addressed and examined in detail. A yearly check-up with one of our Doctors of Optometry will ensure that a child’s vision and ocular health can be closely monitored and watched for any possible changes. In an eye exam we can diagnose common childhood eye conditions and may be able to correct many with specialized treatment and therapy.
Some of the common eye conditions include:
- Amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Refractive Errors (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism)
- Ptosis (drooping eyelid)
- Strabismus (crossed eye)
Adult and Senior Exams:
Routine eye examinations for adults and seniors play an important role in maintaining your health and ensuring that you are receiving the best possible vision care for your eyes. An eye exam is typically 45 minutes to 90 minutes in length. Your Optometrist will listen to your full ocular health history, and perform a vision and ocular health assessment, using a slit lamp and specialized diagnostic equipment. For some patients, a dilation examination will occur as part of the routine check up. A dilated exam allows the Doctor of Optometry to take a better look inside the patient’s eye and perform a thorough inspection of your ocular health. We can diagnose and co-manage common eye diseases, such as Glaucoma and Macular Degeneration. Cataract assessments and referrals to an ophthalmologist are also provided by our Doctors of Optometry. Furthermore, did you know that our Doctors of Optometry can detect early signs of Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol from a routine eye check-up? By observing the blood vessels in the eye, we can evaluate the health and condition of not only your ocular health, but also your overall health.
Our mission is to provide conscientious eyecare that creates long lasting relationships with our patients. We are dedicated to ensuring that you are happy with your experience at our clinic and that you are cared for by our Doctors of Optometry. We recommend an eye exam yearly for seniors and children and once every two years for healthy adults. More frequent visits may be recommended depending on certain medical conditions or medications. From customizing your prescription to your specific visual needs, as well as ensuring your ocular health is closely monitored and treated, we look forward to providing you and your family with top quality, personalized eyecare.
