Is Anti-Reflective Coating Worth The Extra Cost?

Hello everyone! Mimi here! Do you guys ever wonder if adding anti-reflective coating to glasses worth the extra cost? Patients are given the choice to add anti-reflective coating when purchasing their lenses and many reject the offer because they don’t believe that the benefit of removing the glare of their lenses outweigh the cost. However, anti-reflective coating can greatly improve the sharpness and clarity of your vision.

Objects emit light and when these light rays meet at your eye, you see an image of that object. With glasses, the light rays will go through the lens and meet at your eye, but some light will be reflected at the surface of the lens. If you’re standing in a brightly-lit room, you’ll see every object in that room clearly. If you move into a dimmer room with less lighting, the objects won’t be as clear. This situation is like reflection with your glasses. Reflection causes some incoming light to bounce off the surface of the lens and not meet at your eye, which can blur the image you see. You lose light that can meet at your eye, which is like being in a dimmer room. AR coating is the solution to this problem. AR coating gets rid of the reflection of light from the front and back surface of the lens, which will result in more light rays passing through and giving you better vision.

For those who have higher prescriptions (about +4.00 or more), it is highly recommended that they add the AR coating to their glasses. Higher prescriptions require thicker lenses, but these thicker lenses reflect more light. They can reflect up to 50% of light! This makes it even more difficult to see in places with low light. If it’s already dark and the small amount of light you’re getting is cut in half, driving becomes extremely dangerous. AR coating is also really beneficial to those who spend a lot of time on the computer. I am on the computer a lot and it’s true that after a while, my eyes start feeling heavy and dry. Working on a computer puts a lot of strain on your eyes! We want all of you to spend as much as you want on the computer (whether it be working, studying or YouTubing) without feeling the symptoms of eyestrain.

The coating reduces reflection and decreases eyestrain! We definitely want each and every one of you to be able to see clearly while remaining comfortable and safe! So the next time if you’re at an optometry office (or at our Costa Mesa office hopefully!) think about adding anti-reflecting coating to your glasses!

Serving the communities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Tustin, Santa Ana, Hungtington Beach, and Fountain Valley. Schedule a visit with Dr. Valerie Lam or Dr. Thanh Mai to learn more. Our optometry practice is located in Costa Mesa at 3151 Airway Ave. Suite J2, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.