Charles Bittel III, O.D., Inc.

Charles Bittel III,O.D.,Inc. Newsletter

Color Contact Lenses

April 2015
Charles Bittel III, O.D., Inc.

 

As a follow-up to our last newsletter in which we introduced the new Acuvue Define contact lenses, we wanted to take some time to discuss the changing landscape of the color contact lens market as a whole. While there have been some new products introduced in the last year, there have been even more products discontinued in the last few years. We'll do our best in this newsletter to inform those of you who wear color contact lenses, or have thought about trying color contact lenses, about the state of the color contact lens market.

More importantly, however, we wanted to inform all of you in advance that we are implementing new technology that will modernize the way in which we communicate with our patients. While postcard exam reminders and phone call appointment confirmations will still be an option for those of you who prefer those methods of communication, we are also launching text message and email communications as well. Starting later this month, those who have an appointment already scheduled or are due for a reminder of your annual eye exam will receive an email and text message reminder. If you do not have a text-capable phone, you will receive an automated voice reminder from our practice. Once any of the above messages are sent, you will easily be able to opt out of any and all forms of communication that you do not wish to receive. These automated communications will only serve to remind you of appointments that are scheduled or need to be scheduled, as well as when glasses or contact lenses are ready for pick-up. There will also be surveys available regarding your visit for those who wish to partake.   The automated messaging will not include promotional material. As the system becomes implemented down the road we will have the capability to send messages regarding specials or promotions, but you will have to request to receive these messages, they will not be automatic.

Some of you likely already have primary care physicians or dentists that use similar communications systems so this won't be new to everyone. But if you have any questions or concerns about messages you have received or may receive, please call our office at your earliest convenience. We hope this will give us more time to spend with the patients that are physically in our office, and that all of you enjoy the efficiency and simplicity of this technology. Thank you as always for your time and for continuing to chose us as your eye care providers, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the newsletter!


Sincerely,

 

Dr. Charlie Bittel (Junior)
Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior)
Dr. Joo Chi
and Staff
  
  

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In This Issue
Color Contact Lenses

In the last newsletter we introduced the new Acuvue Define lens and touted it as the new wave of color contact lenses that targets the "natural beauty" market. We have had many patients try this lens already and we are getting a lot of positive feedback. And in case you missed the last newsletter, this lens is a daily disposable lens which makes it great for occasional wear, or even a very healthy every-day option.

Another new lens that has been introduced in the last year is the Air Optix Colors contact lens. This is a more traditional color contact lens from a cosmetic perspective, as it is designed to more or less change your eye color as opposed to enhancing your natural eye color. The advancement in design with this lens is in the technology used to manufacture the lens. Air Optix Colors are made of a much more oxygen permeable material than traditional color contact lenses, making them a healthier option to wear on a daily basis. The other design improvement is that the color is within the lens as opposed to being on the surface of the lens. This makes them generally more comfortable than traditional color contact lenses because your eyelids interact with a smooth surface as opposed to a surface with color printed on it. And this also makes them less likely to attract deposits on the surface of the lens,  making them more comfortable as well as healthier. Air Optix Colors are monthly lenses.

While these two newer lenses are a great addition to the color contact lens market, there have been even more lenses that have been discontinued in the last few years.

Acuvue has discontinued all of their color contact lens products, except for the new Define lens. Acuvue made an opaque line of lenses that was designed to change your eye color. They also made a very popular line of color enhancers that has been discontinued as well. While the new Define lens will be a nice replacement option for some color enhancer wearers, others are already missing this lens. There was a gap between the discontinuation of the color enhancers and the introduction of the Define lenses, so if you were an Acuvue color enhancer wearer and have not been able to try the Define lens yet, call our office for a sample of Define if you wish to try something new. 

Another popular lens that has been discontinued is Freshlook Colorblends Toric. Freshlook Colorblends has been a very popular color contact lens for many years and is still available without astigmatism correction. But they have recently decided to discontinue their line of toric lenses for patients with astigmatism. Freshlook Colorblends Toric was the only monthly replaceable color contact lens for patients with astigmatism, so it has been challenging to find a replacement lens for these patients. We may have to resort to custom lenses for those patients that desire color contact lenses to correct for their astigmatism, but these lenses are fairly expensive and 1 lens is designed to last an entire year, as opposed to getting a new lens every month. 

Some other lenses that have been discontinued for a while now include the once popular Focus Softcolors, which were similar to the Acuvue enhancer lenses. And the whole line of Ciba colored contact lenses were essentially discontinued when Alcon purchased Ciba Vision a few years back. 

You may still be able to get some of the aforementioned discontinued lenses through certain online or big box retailers, but even if you do find some of these lenses in stock, they may only come in certain prescriptions that are essentially left over from whenever they were originally purchased from the manufacturer. We did not mention every available color contact lens in this newsletter, so if you are wearing something else or want to try something else that was not mentioned, call or email us if you have any questions. Keep in mind however, that except for the Acuvue Define lenses, most color contact lens samples only come without power/prescription in them, and some manufacturers do not offer samples of their color contact lenses at all. Furthermore, there may be lenses that are available in Europe and Asia that are not yet available in the U.S.

News

New product alert! (In case you missed it last time...)

Johnson and Johnson (Vistakon/Acuvue) has launched a new contact lens aimed at the "natural beauty" market. The lens is called Define and it's an exciting new alternative in the color contact lens arena. It's been available in the Asia market for 6-7 years and is now finally being released in the U.S. You'll see a lot of marketing for Define in the coming months, and we are now one of only about 40 offices in Orange County with trial lenses in the initial launch phase. 

The goal of the Define lens is to enhance the natural color of your eyes. They are not meant to change the color of your eyes like most of the other color contact lens brands. Again, they are targeting the "natural beauty" market. The Define lenses are single-use (daily disposable) so they are perfect for occasional wearers and very healthy for everyday wearers. 

Check out the website, play around with the different designs on different eye colors, or better yet, call us for a sample set and see for yourself how they make your eyes pop!

Acuvue contact lens pricing:

Johnson and Johnson (Acuvue) is still enforcing its unilateral pricing policy (UPP). This means that big box chains and online retailers cannot sell Acuvue products for less than a specified amount. Therefore the majority of the time, our prices on Acuvue products are exactly the same as what Costco and online retailers are charging. And on year supply orders of 1 Day Acuvue Moist and 1 Day Acuvue TruEye, our prices are now actually cheaper than what is available from big box stores and online. We also do not charge tax, we have free shipping on year supplies or 6 month supplies of daily disposables, and have a much more flexible return policy than any outside retailers. And we really really appreciate your business :)  
 

 

About Us

Dr. Chuck Bittel (Senior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for over 30 years. His son, Dr. Charlie Bittel III (Junior) has been practicing in Yorba Linda for the last 9 years and took over the practice in December 2012. The business has continued to grow through referrals of family and friends so we are always honored to see your loved ones and feel free to give us a Yelp if you see fit! We are also the first business in all of California to register with the new referral app GWIG (Go Where I Go)!

 

Learn more about Dr. Bittel Senior and Junior and about their practice on their website and Facebook page. 

 

For appointments call 714-779-8521 or email:

contact@drbittel.com

 

 

Charles Bittel, O.D., Inc.
20399 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, California 92886

714-779-8521

drbittel.com