Our Services
At Santa Barbara Optometry, we offer comprehensive services covering eye exams, eye care, eye emergencies, surgery co-management, eyewear and contact lenses. See how we can help.
Comprehensive Eye Exams
We encourage all of our patients to have a routine eye exam once a year, even if you have no vision complaints. Many eye diseases have no symptoms until they’re advanced and therefore more difficult to treat. A yearly check ensures these diseases are caught and taken care of early.
During the exam, the doctor will check your vision and use the Optomap (a more convenient alternative to dilation) to look for such diseases as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness if undetected. The exam can also detect non-vision-related health issues and systemic diseases, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism. A retinal evaluation for tears, degenerations, and detachments will also be performed.
Routine exams are particularly important for those at higher risk for glaucoma, including anyone over age 60, African Americans over age 40, and those with a family history of glaucoma. Exams are also vital for toddlers and preschool children who may have vision problems without showing any symptoms at all.
Even when none of these symptoms are present, however, we encourage you to bring your child in for a routine exam. When a child has unequal eyes, there are often no symptoms because the good eye compensates quite well for the bad. However, if the condition is not corrected by age 9, when the connection between the eye and brain becomes fully developed, the bad eye won’t have the potential to see 20/20, even with correction.
Eighty percent of learning is through vision, and many learning-related issues are actually caused by poor vision. School screenings have a high false negative rate and can often miss problems. The American Optometric Association recommends the first eye exam at 6 months old, then again at 3 years old, then before kindergarten, and annually thereafter.
We offer free comprehensive eye exams to infants under 12 months with the InfantSEE program. Infants between the ages of 6 and 12 months undergo a significant amount of eye development. Given that one in five preschoolers struggle with vision problems, it’s important to have your baby’s eyes checked before they reach 12 months to ensure their vision is developing properly, and to help prevent future vision and learning problems. InfantSEE offers no-cost eye assessments for infants without vision insurance between 6 and 12 months old. Good habits start early!
Primary Eye Care
Our practice is dedicated to overall ocular health. If you notice anything unusual with your eyes or eyesight, including redness, pink eye, styes or general irritation, we encourage you to visit our office for a consultation. Unless it’s a true emergency, it’s always best to contact us rather than going to urgent care or the ER, where physicians are typically not equipped to evaluate and treat eye conditions.
Eye Emergencies
Our doctors provide urgent care for most eye emergencies, including:
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Corneal Abrasions (a scratch on your eye)
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Foreign bodies in the eye
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Severe eye pain or redness
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Eye infections (like pink eye)
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Distortion or blurred vision
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Flashes or floaters
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Itchy eyes caused by allergies
Call us first for eye emergencies and avoid the wait and potentially high out-of-pocket costs of an Emergency Room visit. Our doctors are available after hours, whereas urgent care and ER physicians are typically not specially equipped to evaluate and treat urgent eye conditions. Please call our office at (805) 569-1504 for instructions on how to contact the doctors after hours.
Refractive Surgery
Co-Management
LASIK, RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange), ICL (Implantable Contact Lenses) and PRK are state-of-the-art surgical procedures that correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Drs. Tem and Joanne Gronquist co-manage refractive surgery patients with the best surgeons in the area, providing you with guidance, preparation and follow-up care in close collaboration with your surgeon.
Once we have determined that you are a good candidate for refractive surgery, we will answer any questions, recommend an area surgeon, and take your pre-operative measurements. After the surgeon performs the operation, we will provide follow-up care. All visits are covered by the usual refractive surgery fee.
Keep in mind that those who have had successful refractive surgery procedures should continue to have annual comprehensive eye exams to check for diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.
Contact Lenses
There are a number of reasons why you might prefer contact lenses to standard eyewear: a glasses-free look, hassle-free vision correction, wearing non-prescription sunwear and goggles, or the convenience of not having to worry about misplacing your glasses. If you have a high prescription or astigmatism, contact lenses may provide more enhanced vision correction than glasses. Today, you can even replace your bifocal glasses with bifocal contact lenses.
For patients who are unable to see clearly with conventional glasses or contact lenses, scleral lenses are large rigid contact lenses that are custom designed and computer lathed for each individual patient. Patients with medical eye conditions such as keratoconus, ocular surface disease, corneal scarring, or corneal transplants could benefit from scleral lenses for clear vision without sacrificing comfort. These lenses are made from premium lens materials to allow for maximum oxygen transmission for best corneal health and vision correction.
We take the time to educate patients in the proper care, use and maintenance of their contact lenses. Our office stays abreast of the latest advancements in contact lens technology, offering a wide selection that includes daily disposable, planned replacement, gas permeable, scleral lenses, soft multifocals, colored contacts and lenses to correct astigmatism. We specialize in hard-to-fit contact lenses, and also fit patients with keratoconus and those who need prosthetic contact lenses.
Ten Good Reasons to Buy Your Eyewear from SB Optometrist
1. Two-year warranty on all frames: If for any reason (except loss, theft, or extreme abuse) you need your frame repaired or replaced within two years of the purchase date, we will replace it for free.
2. Two year warranty on all lenses with scratch resistant coating: Any lens can scratch or break. If you scratch your lenses within two years of the purchase date, we’ll remake your same prescription lenses at no charge to you.
3. 60-day prescription accuracy guarantee: If you’re experiencing any difficulty with your prescription, we’ll make it right. We want your prescription to be right on target. Guarantee applies only to eyewear purchased from us with prescriptions from our doctors.
4. Wide selection of distinctive frames: We carry over 500 frames, including a large selection of sunwear, safety eyewear, sports, and children’s frames. Our large selection of quality frames ranges from budget-friendly to high-end designer styles.
5. Knowledgeable and experienced staff: Our experienced frame and lens specialists are trained to help you find the perfect shape and color of frame for you. They’re ready to assist you with all lens options for a great-looking and functioning pair of glasses.
6. 20-30% savings on multiple pairs: No single pair of glasses can serve all situations. Depending on your environment and lifestyle, you may need sunglasses, reading glasses, or backup glasses. We offer 30% savings on multiple pairs if ordered on the same day, and 20% savings if ordered within 90 days.
7. Latest high technology lenses: We use the most advanced lenses available to provide a solid balance for healthy eyes and visual comfort. Our lens treatments are the hardest, most durable surface protections available.
8. Highest quality available: We utilize a professional lab with an excellent reputation and the highest quality materials to guarantee the finest finished product. Your eyewear will typically be ready within 7-10 working days. We’re not the fastest, but we’re the best.
9. Savings for contact lens patients: Contact lens patients receive 20% savings on complete pairs of glasses and sunglasses, including non-prescription sunglasses.
10. Support our local community: We’ve all seen large corporations push high-quality small businesses out of the Santa Barbara community. Our doctors spend more time with our patients for the highest level of care, and we want to keep it that way. One way you can make a difference is by purchasing your eyewear from us, your local, independent family eye clinic.
Eye Care Links
Represents more than 32,000 doctors, students, technicians and assistants of optometry in more than 6,600 communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Considered one of the most prestigious schools of optometry in the U.S., SCCO provides excellence in teaching, patient care, research and public service.
Research to Prevent Blindness is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds, coordinates and promotes vision research in the United States.
The School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley, is well known for its quality of research and publications.
Learn more about glaucoma, what it is, how it's treated, and the latest research.
Research to Prevent Blindness explains what glaucoma is, its risk factors, and related resources.