Question 1

When Should My Child Get Their First Eye Exam?

Accepted Answer

Recommendations vary, but our doctors typically recommend that infants should have their first appointment between six and nine months, and annually thereafter. If you have concerns about your child's eyes or vision at any age, please call us at 705-566-6858.

Question 2

What Should I Look for in a Pair of Sunglasses?

Accepted Answer

In order to protect your eyes, sunglasses that are 100% UV blocking against both UVA and UVB rays, and are close-fitting with a wrap-around style frame to help keep light out are best.

Question 3

Will My Eye Exam Be Covered by OHIP?

Accepted Answer

Ages 0-19: Your eye exam is covered by OHIP every 12 months plus any follow-up assessments that may be required are covered.

Ages 20-64 without eligible medical conditions: your eye exam is not covered by OHIP.

Ages 20-64 with eligible medical conditions: Your eye exam is covered by OHIP once every 12 months, and up to 2 follow-ups for conditions that existed at the time of the routine eye exam.

Ages 65+ without eligible medical conditions: Your eye exam is covered by OHIP once every 18 months.

Ages 65+ with eligible medical conditions: Your eye exam is covered by OHIP once every 12 months, and up to 2 follow-up assessments that may be required are covered.

Question 4

How Much Does an Eye Exam Cost?

Accepted Answer

If you are not covered by OHIP (see "Will my eye exam be covered by OHIP?"), our full comprehensive eye exam starts at $175.00. Some patients will require additional testing at additional cost depending on their individual needs. If additional testing is required, your doctor will discuss it with you during your exam. Services like contact lens fitting, genetic testing, or MTO testing have different costs associated with them. Please call our office for details 705-566-6858.

Question 5

Can I Get Lasik Surgery?

Accepted Answer

Not everyone is a good candidate for laser refractive surgery. See your optometrist for an eye health and vision assessment to determine your particular risk factors and candidacy.

Question 6

Why Am I Having Trouble Night Driving?

Accepted Answer

Night driving is one of the most challenging tasks you can perform with your eyes, even for people with perfect vision. The natural challenges of night driving can be made worse by untreated conditions like myopia, astigmatism, presbyopia, cataracts, or dry eye. Make sure to visit your optometrist for an eye health and vision assessment. Night driving can be made more comfortable by making sure your prescription is up to date, replacing scratched or damaged glasses, and adding a dedicated Anti-Reflective coating or contrast filter to your glasses.

Question 7

Is Reading At Night Bad for My Eyes?

Accepted Answer

When we’re young we’re told not to read in the dark because it will damage our eyes. Well, for those of us that used to hide under the blankets with a flashlight, it may have caused minor eye strain, but no permanent damage.

Question 8

Is My Child Sitting Too Close to the TV?

Accepted Answer

Encourage your child to sit away from the screen. Though close-up viewing is generally not harmful, viewing at a distance allows for picture details to appear sharper and better defined and the screen lines and defects will be less apparent. If your child persists in watching from a short distance, schedule an eye examination for them with your optometrist; children who like to sit too close to the screen may be nearsighted (myopic).

Question 9

Is Blue Light Harmful?

Accepted Answer

There is no clinical evidence that artificial blue light at low intensity and shorter exposure periods is harmful to the eye. Exposure to too much artificial blue light, especially at night, from electronic devices may lead to poor sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, and daytime fatigue because it has been shown to suppress melatonin production, sleepiness and morning alertness. Whether or not to add blue-blocking coating on your prescription lenses is an individual decision that should be made with an optometrist, who as a primary eye care provider, is your best resource for making an informed decision.

Question 10

Is Screen Time Making My Vision Worse?

Accepted Answer

Having uncorrected hyperopia or myopia, astigmatism, presbyopia, or dry eye can all make computer use less comfortable and efficient. Depending on your condition, your eyes could be exerting extra effort or be forced to work harder to maintain a clear image when viewing the screen. Even people with perfect vision may experience symptoms such as blurred vision, eyestrain and headaches with prolonged computer use. To ensure comfortable and efficient computer usage, visit your doctor of optometry for a thorough eye health exam.

Question 11

How Much Screen Time Should Children Have?

Accepted Answer

Canadian Association of Optometrists recommended amount of screen-time for children:
 • 0-2 years: None, with the possible exception of live video-chatting (e.g., Skype, Facetime) with parental support, due to its potential for social development, though this needs further investigation.
 • 2–5 years: No more than 1 hour per day. Programming should be age-appropriate, educational, high-quality, and co-viewed, and should be discussed with the child to provide context and help them apply what they are seeing to their 3-dimensional environment.
 • 5–18 years: Ideally no more than 2 hours per day of recreational screen time. Parents and eye care providers should be aware that children report total screen time use as much higher (more than 7 hours per day in some studies). This is not unrealistic considering the multitude of device screens children may be exposed to in a day, both at home and at school. Individual screen time plans for children between the ages of 5–18 years should be considered based on their development and needs.

Question 12

Can You Fix My Glasses?

Accepted Answer

We offer complimentary glasses repair without an appointment. The level of damage that your glasses have sustained will be assessed by an optician or assistant, and we will be happy to discuss available options for repair. In most cases, jobs like nose pad replacement, straightening a bent frame, or replacing missing screws, takes only a few minutes.

Question 13

How Should I Clean My Glasses?

Accepted Answer

A microfiber lens cloth, and lens cleaning solution are your best option for day to day cleaning. If your Family Vision Centre bottle of lens cleaning solution runs out, we are happy to refill it at no charge. For a deep clean, a gentle wash in dish soap and warm (not hot) water works great.

Question 14

What Is Included in an Eye Exam?

Accepted Answer

As doctors of optometry, we evaluate many factors that can affect your vision and eye health. We review your case history, conduct an external and internal exam of your eyes, and measure vision qualities, such as eye movements and coordination, sharpness of vision and peripheral vision. We also evaluate your ability to adjust focus, and to see colour and depth normally. If we detect problems, we may recommend glasses, contact lenses, exercises, medication or surgery. Your optometrist will make a recommendation of how often you should get your eye exams, based on your individual needs.

Question 15

Can You Direct Bill My Insurance?

Accepted Answer

In most cases, yes. There are a few insurance providers that do not allow direct billing, but we are happy to work with you to make the submission process as easy as possible.

Question 16

Can I use more than one insurance plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. There are certain pieces of information we will need in order to coordinate benefits into multiple plans. We're happy to walk you through the process.

Question 17

Do I Need an Appointment?

Accepted Answer

In order to see an optometrist, we typically require an appointment. If you need to see an optometrist right away, please call us at 705-566-6858 to begin the triage process. If you are unable to reach us for an eye emergency please see a physician for emergency treatment.

Question 18

What Information Should I Bring to My Exam?

Accepted Answer

To help provide you the highest standard of care, we ask that you please bring: your health card (or equivalent), a list of your medications (if you haven't submitted online already), any insurance information, and any pairs of prescription glasses that you currently wear.

Frequently Asked Questions