Doctors of Optometry - Westchester Mall | Trusted Eye Doctors in White Plains, NY (2024)

FAQs

What is the best kind of eye doctor to see? ›

Visit your medical optometrist for primary medical eye care, including eye medication prescriptions, monitoring and managing eye diseases, or emergency eye care services. Visit an ophthalmologist for interventions like surgical treatments for serious eye diseases, advanced ocular problems, or refractive eye surgery.

You can visit an ophthalmologist for the same care as an optometrist, such as a routine eye exam or prescription refill. However, an ophthalmologist can also perform eye surgery for various diseases and conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, and strabismus.

Ophthalmologist vs. Optometrist vs. Optician

Opticians are technicians who fit eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision-correcting devices. Optometrists examine, diagnose, and treat patients' eyes. Ophthalmologists are eye doctors who perform medical and surgical treatments for eye conditions.

Is OCT 3D better than other eye tests? OCT 3D is considered to be the most precise and accurate eye test available today. However, it's important to note that different eye tests serve different purposes, and your ophthalmologist may recommend a different test depending on your needs.

Ophthalmologists specialize in treating eye health problems, such as dry eye syndrome, eyelid conditions such as blepharitis and styes, cataracts, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma or macular degeneration.

Optometrists often use a Snellen chart which consists of letters and numbers in varying sizes, to measure your visual acuity. You'll read the characters from a distance, with each eye tested separately. This test helps identify the extent of your refractive error, which is the most common of vision problems.

For general eye care, either an optometrist or ophthalmologist is a good option. Both of these types of eye doctors can: Give you a comprehensive dilated eye exam. Write a prescription for glasses or contacts.

They only need to have attended optometry school to practice and generally work in private practice. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors — which requires going to medical school and completing a residency — who perform eye surgery and inpatient medical procedures to treat chronic and immediate issues.

Can an optometrist diagnose eye problems? ›

Optometrists can diagnose and treat eye diseases and vision problems. They perform eye exams to identify any problems with eyes or vision.

Ophthalmologists must complete many more years of medical training than optometrists and opticians. As a result, an ophthalmologist is the most qualified among eye care professionals to diagnose and treat a wide range of eye diseases, beyond the routine eye and vision care provided by an optometrist.

So becoming a Doctor of Optometry leads to an extra $41,000 in earnings per year by the averages. Let's just assume that $41,000 in extra income sustains throughout the entire 40 year career of an OD. That works out to an extra $1,640,000 in lifetime earnings for an OD compared to someone with a bachelor's degree.

A common misbelief about ophthalmologists is that they are not primary eye care providers or that they are more expensive than optometrists. That is simply not true.