This is a sponsored post by Essilor of America, a supporter of NewGradOptometry & new graduate optometrists 😎!
As a doctor, prescribing lenses is not as simple as just writing a prescription.
I find there are three things to consider:
- Material
- Design
- Technology
Your patient's lifestyle must also be taken into account. The patient may or may not be able to tell you what they need, so you should be prepared to ask the right questions.
- What do you do for work?
- What type of hobbies do you participate in?
- Is there anything you didn't like about your previous glasses?
- If you could improve a feature about your current glasses, what would it be?
The answers to these questions will help you to prescribe the best lens options possible to not only meet but exceed the needs and expectations of your patients.
Anti-Reflective Lens Options
Crizal® No-Glare lenses give your patients the clearest possible vision. In my office, it is non-negotiable.
The benefits of these lenses include reduced glare, water resistance, increased UV protection, and smudge resistance.
While all Crizal® lenses are excellent, Crizal Avancé UV™ and Crizal Sapphire UV™ also repel dust and dirt, so the lenses don’t scratch easily. This can be an added benefit to your patients depending on their occupations.
Crizal Avancé UV™, Crizal Sapphire UV™ and Crizal® Prevencia™ lenses maintain durability due to the 9-step process involved in their creation.
- Automated lens stripping and cleaning- abrasion of the material to ensure the best adhesion of hard coat to the lens.
- Application of scratch resistant hardcoat– polymer matrix with silica particles scratch resistant coating of equal thicknesses is applied to both sides for durability.
- Preparation of lens surface in a vacuum coating machine– surface is cleaned again with an Ion bombardment process for maximized adhesion of the Anti-Reflective coat to the hard coat layers.
- Application of SR booster layer- Essilor's scratch resistance thick silica (glass) layer is added in the vacuum coating chamber between the Anti-Reflective coat and hard coat. This layer provides maximum scratch resistance.
- Application of Anti-Reflective layers- The Anti-Reflective layers are made of multiple layers to minimize glare and increase the spectacle wearer's appearance. On the backside of the lens, this layer is maximized to include the UV protection against backside reflections.
- Application of Anti-Particulate layer - This layer is applied between Anti-Reflective layers to give the lens anti-static properties and to repel dust and dirt.
- Application of High Surface Density Super Hydrophobic Layer - This tightly packed layer of fluorinated molecules is applied on the front and back surfaces of the lens. This technology repels water, body oil, and sweat. It also makes the lens very easy to clean.
- Application of Patented Pad Control System -This patented temporary layer is applied to aid in blocking and edging the lenses. The lens is so slippery that without this layer, blocking and edging would not be possible
- Systematic Quality Check - One lens (non-patient’s) from each batch goes through stringent laboratory tests to ensure quality and consistency in Crizal No-Glare products!
**It is imperative for your patients to understand that exceptional no-glare treatments require a multi-hour process and cannot be produced in one hour.**
Blue Light Blocking Technology
Do your patients spend a lot of times outdoors?
Do they spend a lot of time immersed in digital media?
If so, they are exposed to blue light all day long.
Crizal® Prevencia™ is a No-Glare lens treatment that blocks up to 20% of the Harmful Blue Light from reaching your patient's eyes. Adding Crizal® Prevencia™ to a Smart Blue Filter Lens from Essilor, such as Transitions® Signature™ VII or Varilux® Physio® W3+, will increase the amount of Harmful Blue Light blocked from reaching the eye.
If my patients have a family history of cataracts or macular degeneration, I typically educate these patients on sunglasses and dietary measures which may benefit them. I will also raise awareness of the current blue light research and discussions that have been ongoing and suggest blue blocking lens technology.
While the research regarding blue light is being scrupulously examined and not yet entirely definitive, if there is something I could recommend that may help protect and maintain healthy vision into the future, I have no reservation too!
Anti-Fog Lens Options
Optifog® is probably the least known, but most unique of Essilor's technologies.
The Optifog® lens has hydrophilic top layers with inherent fog resistant properties.
The anti-fog properties are activated with an Optifog Activator Cloth. The cloth activates and cleans at the same time.
Fog is often an occupational hazard when working in areas with large temperature changes. This lens technology is ideal for professional chefs and other restaurant professionals.
UV Protection
The characteristic that separates Essilor lenses from most other lenses is their backside UV protection.
The back side of clear lenses has been shown to reflect UV light from the back and sides of the lenses directly into the eye. This increases UV exposure to the eye. All Crizal® products have backside UV protection.
This technological feature is important to all patients of all ages.
Smudges, Dirt, Dust and Water Resistance
While all Crizal® products are built to reduce smudges, dirt, and water, Crizal Avancé UV™ and Crizal Sapphire UV™ also decrease dust.
Both of these products are made with a HSD (see step 7) and antistatic layer which eliminate smudges and are dust-resistant.
The addition of the SR Booster between the AR and hard coat in the Crizal Avancé UV™ and Crizal Sapphire UV™ lenses raises the
scratch resistance to a best-in-class level. This makes Crizal Avancé UV™ and Crizal Sapphire UV™ premium products.
scratch resistance to a best-in-class level. This makes Crizal Avancé UV™ and Crizal Sapphire UV™ premium products.
Transitions Adaptive Lenses
All Essilor no-glare lenses are compatible with Transitions® lens technology. Adaptive lenses are lenses that change their darkness depending on the amount of UV reaching the surface of the lens.
There are 3 types of Transitions® lenses:
- Transitions® Signature™ VII
- Transitions® XTRActive®
- Transitions® Vantage™
Transitions® Signature VII®
Transitions® Signature VII® Lenses are fully clear indoors, but are reactive to UV light so they darken outdoors.
Transitions® XTRActive®
Transitions® XTRActive® lenses are designed to provide extra protection from light, including behind the windshield of a car. These lenses, when activated, are the darkest of all Transitions® lenses even in the warmest conditions.
Transitions® Vantage™
Transitions® Vantage™ lenses not only adapt to light but polarize as they darken for crisper, sharper vision outdoors.
Make sure you are educating your patients on lens technology and prescribing it to provide your patients with the best visual experience.
Sources:
- Arnault E, Barrau C, Nanteau C, Gondouin P, Bigot K, et al. (2013). Phototoxic Action Spectrum on a Retinal Pigment Epithelium Model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Exposed to Sunlight Normalized Conditions. PLoS ONE 8(8): e71398. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071398 (August 23, 2013). Identified Harmful Blue Light through in vitro experiment on swine retinal cells, where the most toxic wavelengths are high energy visible light falling between 415-455nm on the light spectrum (blue-violet light).
**All lens technology information and diagrams provided by Essilor
