FAQs

Monday – Tuesday 9 AM – 6 PM

Wednesday 10 AM – 7 PM

Thursday 9:30 AM – 6 PM

Friday 8 AM – 4 PM

Saturday – Sunday CLOSED

Call our office at 919-929-7111, or request an appointment online!

You will want to allow about an hour for your well-vision exam. If you choose to stay after the appointment to pick out new glasses, you may be here a little longer. Medical appointments can vary, but typically take around 45 minutes to an hour.

If you are a new patient, we do have some paperwork for you to complete, including medical history, general patient information, and a standard HIPAA privacy policy. Completing this beforehand saves time at the appointment and gets you back to see the doctor more quickly. A link with our forms will be sent to you after making your appointment.

In addition to the completed paperwork, please bring your insurance card with you to the appointment. If you wear glasses or prescription sunglasses, we ask that you bring them as well. If you are a contact lens wearer, please bring your contact lenses and a copy of your prescription. Knowing the exact brand and powers makes the contact lens exam easier and more straightforward.

The routine eye exam costs $150 out of pocket. A level one contact lens exam costs $69, while a level two contact lens exam costs $99. A contact lens new fit exam is $150. Most vision insurance companies will cover some of these expenses, often with a copay.

All insurance companies require that optometrists bill the contact lens exam separately from the routine eye exam. Please note that the cost of the contact lens exam includes any follow-up appointments needed.

We are an in-network provider for many vision insurance companies, including EyeMed, Envolve, and Community Eyecare. We also accept most medical plans that have vision on them, like Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Medicare, and most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. Please give us a call so we can provide you with an accurate quote.

Our office does NOT accept Medicaid.

We are currently out of network with a small number of companies, including Spectera/United Healthcare Vision, Vision Service Plan (VSP), Davis Vision, National Vision Administrators, and Tricare. We are also out of network with the Blue Local plan on Blue Cross Blue Shield. Please keep in mind, however, that this is not a complete list. If you call and provide us your insurance information, we are happy to let you know whether or not your visit will be covered.

We are an “all access provider” and we may be able to file out of network reimbursements to patients.

We strongly prefer to get your insurance information before the appointment. That way, we can make sure you are in network and covered before you make the trip over to see us. Getting benefits verified ahead of time also makes your visit go much quicker, since we’ll already have your coverage and copays determined when you arrive.

It’s important to have a well-vision exam once a year not only to check your glasses and contact lens prescription, but also to monitor the overall health of your eyes.

As a participating provider for the InfantSee program, we are happy to see infants up to a year old free of charge. After that, it’s usually best to wait until your child is three before beginning to bring them in for their yearly vision exams, as long as they are not showing any signs of eye strain.

There are two options for checking the health of your eyes at your well-vision exam: dilation or the retinal imaging photo.

The doctor will use drops that widen your pupils and allow more light to enter your eyes, which makes it easier for him or her to see and examine each retina. The drops will cause light sensitivity and blurriness with your near vision, which typically lasts up to six hours. Dilation is covered by insurance and has no extra charge.

Most patients feel comfortable driving after being dilated, since the drops mainly affect your near vision rather than distance. However, if you are concerned about driving with dilated eyes, the retinal imaging photo may be a better option for you.

A retinal imaging photo is a wide-angle photograph of the back of your eyes. It allows the doctor to thoroughly examine each retina, which is the tissue that lines the inside of your eyes and sends visual messages to your brain. It has no side effects and is painless. The photo costs $39 and is not covered by insurance.

While dilation is still a great tool for checking the health of the eyes, our doctors prefer the retinal photo. It gives them a strong diagnostic baseline to monitor the health of your eyes and provides a point of comparison to keep track of any changes from year to year. With retinal photography, they can directly look at the photos from each visit rather than referring to notes they took while looking at your dilated eyes. However, there are certain situations where dilation is necessary, such as with diabetic patients. We’re happy to discuss it more with you at your visit.

This distinction is based on the level of complexity of your contact lens exam. A contact lens exam will typically be considered “level one” if you know what lens you’re currently wearing, it’s working well, and no major changes need to be made. If your current lens isn’t working so well and you need to explore other options with the doctor, your exam will most likely be “level two.”

The lenses in your glasses sit millimeters away from your eyes, while your contact lenses rest directly on the surface of your eyes. As a result, these prescriptions will be different. The doctor needs to account for unique variables when checking your contact lens prescription, including the amount and type of correction needed, the fit of the lens on your cornea, and the compatibility of the lens material with your eyes.

Absolutely. We can easily do both exams during your routine vision appointment.

If you have had your well-vision exam within the last six months, we can see you for a contact lens exam only. However, we will need your exam notes provided to us beforehand if your exam was done elsewhere and we do not already have them on file.

Yes! They typically arrive to us just within a couple of business days.

Your contact lens prescription will be valid for one year.

Your contact lens prescription is written for the specific lens that you’re wearing, so it will only be valid when ordering that exact lens.

If your prescription has expired, that means it is time to come in for your next well-vision exam. It’s very important to follow up yearly not just to check for a prescription change, but also to catch any possible complications that may have developed since the last time you were in. A contact lens is ultimately a medical device, and issues like over-wear and debris build-up can have adverse effects on the health of your eyes.

If you are interested in wearing contacts for the first time, the first step is to come in for a contact lens new fit exam. This exam typically takes around two hours, and includes full training on how to put in, take out, and care for your contact lenses. It costs $150, though most vision insurance companies will offer a discount.

Please make sure you trim your nails short; otherwise, it can be very difficult getting the contacts in and out. It is generally a good idea not to wear eye makeup, since it can get in your eyes and cause irritation. If you have time before the exam, wash your hands thoroughly and practice gently touching the surface of your eyes at home.

Absolutely. In addition to routine vision exams, our doctors see and monitor patients for medical eye conditions like diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, cataracts, conjunctivitis, dry eye syndrome, ocular allergies, macular degeneration, and more.

We make it a priority to have the most cutting-edge technology available for specialized testing at our practice. This includes optical coherence tomography (OCT), Zeiss Humphrey visual field analyzer, topography, tonometers, and more.

It is typically better to go to an optometrist than the hospital when you are having eye pain. While emergency room doctors have comprehensive knowledge of the body and its many systems, an optometrist specializes specifically in eye care.

Some common signs of an eye emergency include intense pain, seeing flashing light, or noticing sudden, extremely-blurred vision. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please call us at 919-929-7111. If it’s outside of our regular business hours, one of our doctors will be on call to help you.

Yes. Our in-house optical shop can fill any valid glasses prescription, even if you got it somewhere else. We work hand-in-hand with a handful of local and national labs, and we’ll make sure your order is sent to the one best-equipped to get you what you need.

The benefits of buying your glasses at Carrboro Family Vision in Chapel Hill are many, all of which are backed by our unparalleled customer service.

The cost can vary widely since it is based on a number of factors, including prescription, frame type, and lens material. We make it a priority to maximize your insurance benefits and ensure you receive the best products on the market for your money. If you find a frame you like, we are more than happy to walk you through your lens options and give you a price quote.

Absolutely! If your glasses are damaged, we ask that you bring them in so we can take a look and assess them. When the glasses are fixable, most repairs can be done instantly and take just a few minutes. Repairs and adjustments are always free.

No appointment needed! Our optical shop is always open for walk-ins during our regular business hours. Come in any time for all your glasses-related needs.

Turnaround time varies depending on your prescription and lens enhancements, but most orders take 2 weeks.

Yes. All frames that pass our inspection can have new lenses made for them. However, please keep in mind that in most cases we’ll need to send the frame to the lab.

Yes! As long as your prescription is still valid and you are able to provide us a copy, you can certainly buy your glasses at Carrboro Family Vision in Chapel Hill.

Bring them in! In almost all cases, we need to troubleshoot your glasses in person. Doing so allows us to check the fit and feel of your frame and take specific measurements on the lenses to make sure they match your prescription and were made correctly.

Almost always, yes. In most cases, all you need is a simple adjustment! If you have a history of glasses that fall down your face, ask one of our opticians about your options for frame fitting and lens material. Chances are there’s something we can offer to change things up.

Your aptly-named pupillary distance is the distance between your pupils. It’s a measurement labs use to ensure your prescription is centered around the spot you look out of your particular lenses.

Warranties are available for purchase. Please ask the optical staff about the options available to you.

Carrboro Family Vision in Chapel Hill generally has at least one ongoing glasses promotion running at any given time. Currently, we offer all patient 50% off a second pair of glasses when both pairs of lenses have an anti-reflective coating. Feel free to drop by and ask our optical team about other promotions.