Glasses (and dentists)

[Glenda]

It has come to pass that daughter needs glasses ? nothing too serious, just for reading the whiteboard at school or text on the TV. ?So off we went for the check-up ($45) and then we browsed the frames for sale, me surreptitiously turning the frames over to see the price on the tickets. ?

Holy Moses! ?The frames seem to range from $180 to $530! ?Probably if you convert to British pounds they are not that much different in price, (perhaps someone knows?) but I was in shock. ? :o

I tried to steer daughter to the cheaper frames but she was quite oblivious and, like most parents, I did not want to make a 'spectacle' ?::) about money in front of my daughter and the assistant ? I mean, these are my daughter?s first glasses and she needs to feel comfortable.

The final bill will come to around $440 ... and they are talking about another check up in 6 months' time (yeah, sure). ? :-/

(I've just edited the subject title to include dentistry as this is discussed further on in the thread.)

[LilAmy]

Hi Glenda,

Being a 'speccy' myself the cost here is about the same as in the UK. The only difference is that in the UK you get a lot of deals such as buy one get one free which is great.

Just out of interest how much were the lenses? I think when I have to go and to keep the cost down I'll just use the frames that I have now.

[MotherBear]

?I think when I have to go and to keep the cost down I'll just use the frames that I have now.

That's what I've been doing and is a good way of saving if you already have a set of frames. Unfortunately, in Glenda's case, this will be her daughter's first pair.

Glenda, know anyone with a set of specs they don't want any more and which your daughter would find acceptable and comfortable? You could utilise them by having her new lenses inserted. Bit of a long shot though.

A lot of new-style specs now hardly have any frame to them. The ones I bought recently only have thin arms and a nasal bit on them. Nothing around the actual lenses. I don't know what it's like in NZ, but in other places you can buy specs other than from an expensive optician, like Boots The Chemist in the UK. If you know what strength you need, you'll know which one to buy as they're marked, otherwise it's a case of trying them on until you find one that clearly enhances the vision.

Sounds a bit hit and miss when you consider the elaborate eye tests you have in the optician's, but I paid over 100 GBP for a pair in an optician's here, then recently bought some off the shelf from a pharmacy for about a tenner. The latest ones work better than the ones from the optician.

Certainly it's good to have the eye test to determine if there are any other problems with the eyes but, after that, I don't think there's too much benefit from paying a lot of money unless maybe one eye is stronger than the other one and you need separate strength lenses to correct this, but, although this is how it is in my case, I manage perfectly OK with shop-bought specs. If they were for full-time use it might be a different matter, but just for reading it's not quite so critical.

If you do find some in a shop or pharmacy, perhaps get your daughter to try them on out of curiosity to see how she feels about them. These places are everywhere now so there must be some merit in them.

[johnty]

yes as amy says seems about uk price,
but there is always someone with an offer mostly two for one .but feel quite lucky as direct optik dose a 3 for 1 and that covers the lenses to,oh and one pair can be sunnys .look like i will need to pay them a visit before we get going.
going a bit of thread here but dentists can be a bit pricey to from what i can gather is that so?
cheers johnty

[selchie]

So is there no optical coverage in the NZ health plan? The exam price sounded reasonable, but the glasses price was pain-giving.

Be sure to emphasize to your daughter that her glasses are fragile, and need to be treated gently. If she has plastic lenses, she'll need to be even more careful. Fortunately my first pair (when I was 12) were sturdy, and helped teach me how to take care of them. I swore off plastic lenses after one pair, because I can't keep from cleaning them with my shirttails.

[Glenda]

Thanks for your replies. It is actually more than I said ... another $45 on top for the examination - makes it just under $500. I thought that was a bit on the expensive side, but daughter has promised to take good care of the glasses.

Lil Amy, the lenses themselves come to around $180 ... I had a chat with the sales assistant and she says it gets more expensive with the strength needed, whether there is any other requirements, any coatings, tinting etc.

I didn't think you could get cheapo glasses off the rack for short-sightedness. I know you can for reading glasses ... that is coming for me within the next couple of years. Wonder whether that is caused by increasing age (!) or too many hours on the PC (!). ::)

[MotherBear]

I didn't think you could get cheapo glasses off the rack for short-sightedness. ?I know you can for reading glasses ... that is coming for me within the next couple of years. ?Wonder whether that is caused by increasing age (!) or too many hours on the PC (!). ? ::)

When I mentioned about cheapo glasses, I was homing in on what you said about reading the whiteboard and TV text. Is that classed as needing reading glasses or are those only for close up reading? Mine are for reading books etc. and using the computer and are quite adequate. I don't know if they sell other types as I've only needed reading glasses so far.

I think quite a lot of us who've had pretty good eyesight in our younger years, find we need a little help when we get older. I always get confused between Shortsightedness and Longsightedness

[LilAmy]

Damn, my lenses will no doubt cost a bomb...I'm as blind as a bat.

Plus I want to get my prescription sunnies sorted out soon too.... :-/

Going to johnty's off topic about dentists, yes they are really expensive. Our friends daughter needs braces - $12,000! No mistake, thats twelve thousand dollars! Needless to say, she wont be getting them. Even simple things like fillings cost in their hundreds to have done, and checkups can be around $60. If you think you might need dental care, it's worth hunting down insurance to cover these costs. I believe you can get insurance to cover eyesight too but, excusing the pun, you need to look hard for it!

[Glenda]

Going to johnty's off topic about dentists, yes they are really expensive. ?Our friends daughter needs braces - $12,000! ?No mistake, thats twelve thousand dollars! ?Needless to say, she wont be getting them. ?Even simple things like fillings cost in their hundreds to have done, and checkups can be around $60.

Sh1t a brick! ?

Sorry, ?:-[ ?but I was so taken aback about the cost of those braces. ?My daughter needs them too, special see-through moulded ones (Invisalign) because she has weak enamel, and I thought it was bad enough being told they would cost up to $6,000! ?The earliest I can get an appointment here is in December, so no doubt I will be given a more precise cost then. ? :(

At the age of 5 years, my son needed a brace to sort out an underbite. ?The cost was no more than GBP500 done privately. ?I could be wrong, but it might be a good idea for anyone whose children may need braces to get an estimate before leaving the UK and maybe get the work done with follow-ups in NZ.

Primary school children in our NZ town are seen once a year by a dental nurse, and she or a dentist carries out work free. ?There used to be a discount scheme for older school aged children here but it has now stopped and they are charged adult prices ?- that is in our town, other areas may still have dentists under the scheme. ? ?My daughter had an examination and two fillings recently - that cost $320. ?

Last time I was at the dentist, I was told that one tooth was so bad it may be that I would need a crown ($950). ?Fortunately, he managed to fill and save the tooth.

You have to remember here to put savings away - not only for a rainy day but also for the dentist.