Pediatric Eye Exams

Your child needs clear vision and healthy eyes at every phase of life, and pediatric eye exams at Dearborn Eyecare provide vision care for children in Dearborn, Michigan. Led by Bashir Tarraf, OD, the team offers pediatric eye exams to screen for the problems that often cause vision and eye health issues in young people, while also providing solutions for existing vision challenges. To schedule your child’s pediatric eye exam, call the office or book an appointment using the online feature now.

What are pediatric eye exams?

Pediatric eye exams are appointments focused on your child’s eye health and eyesight. 

During a pediatric eye exam at Dearborn Eyecare, your child’s provider uses the most advanced equipment and techniques to check many aspects of their eyesight, including their near, middle, and distance vision. 

If your child has a refractive error, the exam includes tests to determine what kind of glasses or contact lens prescription your child needs. Refractive errors include:

• Myopia (nearsightedness)
• Hyperopia (farsightedness)
• Astigmatism (over curvature of the eye)

Eye movement and coordination tests are also part of the eye exam, along with tests to evaluate color vision, light response, eye alignment, and other important aspects of vision. 

Your child’s provider generally performs a dilated eye exam to look in the back of their eyes. That helps them detect and diagnose eye disease in the earliest stages. Eye dilation only requires a few drops in each eye and is a painless and easy process.

Do children need pediatric eye exams if they have eye screenings?

Dearborn Eyecare performs comprehensive pediatric eye exams, which are different from eye screenings. 

Eye screenings, like those that your child might have at school, only check vision. That type of screening doesn’t detect subtle changes in eyesight nor does it evaluate your child’s eye function, structure, and overall eye health.

Eye screenings are often performed by non-professionals who don’t have the latest advanced equipment. So, they might help detect significant vision issues but can never take the place of pediatric eye exams. 

How often does my child need pediatric eye exams?

Dearborn Eyecare generally recommends annual eye exams for all children. It offers an opportunity to check for problems, monitor vision changes, and update your child’s eyewear as needed. 

Pediatric eye exams are also a chance to take proactive steps to preserve your child’s vision.

Many children experience myopia, which is a controllable condition. During each pediatric eye exam, your child’s provider monitors their refractive error and gauges how likely it is to worsen. 

If your child is at risk for significant myopia later in life, their provider may prescribe myopia control methods, such as hard overnight contact lenses. Wearing these special lenses can prevent myopia progression and help your child grow up with better vision. 

Schedule your child’s pediatric eye exam by calling Dearborn Eyecare or clicking the online scheduling link today.