The Importance of Eye Care and Vision Insurance

“My vision is perfect and always has been. Why do I need to see an eye doctor, and why should I invest in vision insurance?”

Preventive health is so important. We know that scheduling twice annual visits with our dentist is a great way to take care of our oral and overall health — and we do it even when we don’t have an obvious dental health problem. But what about preventive health for our eyes?

If you have corrective lenses like contacts or glasses, the benefits of seeing an eye care professional are clear. But if you have 20/20 vision, you may be less likely to have an eye care plan and vision insurance. Here, we explain why you should take a closer look at preventive eye health.

An Eye Exam Isn’t Just About Your Eyes

Has it been awhile since you last saw an eye care professional? If it has, you probably think of eye exams in somewhat basic terms: eye charts, nearsighted, farsighted, etc. But eye exams can reveal things about your eye health — and overall health — that you’re not aware of.

First, you may think your vision is perfect, but your eye doctor can identify vision problems that you don’t realize. Perhaps you’ve gotten used to blurry vision. Your eye doctor can see that and correct it.

An eye exam measures your total vision, which includes central and peripheral vision, in addition to the fluid pressure in your eyes (which is how your doctor can see early signs of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness). Regular eye exams can track how your vision changes over time. Many eye conditions develop slowly, so you may not recognize the changes, but your eye care professional can.

But eye exams don’t just focus on the health of your eyes, they can also shed light on the early signs of other chronic medical conditions, like diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Like all medical diseases, early diagnosis is directly linked to better management and outcomes. Having regular eye exams is a strong way to support total preventive health.

So, how often should you get an eye exam? That depends on a lot of things, including your age and history of eye conditions. Generally, if you’re under 40 with no history of eye disease, an exam every 3 years is a good idea. But an annual exam is appropriate if you wear corrective lenses, are age 60 or over, or have a history of vision problems.

Why Should I Invest in Vision Insurance?

If you have insurance, you’re more likely to get preventive exams. If you have Delta Dental dental insurance, you can bundle DeltaVision vision insurance to ensure your dental and vision needs are covered.

DeltaVision insurance covers the cost of an annual eye exam. If you need glasses or contacts, vision insurance will help you save on the costs of corrective lenses, too. You will also save on vision surgery, like LASIK.

Preventive health is the best way to stay healthy throughout every stage of life. It’s easy to take your eye health for granted, so it’s easy to overlook preventive eye health. You may have perfect vision today, but being proactive about your vision health is the best way to keep it that way for that long haul. 

Ready to learn more about DeltaVision? Here’s a great place to start. 

SOURCES:

https://www.allaboutvision.com/vision-insurance/need-vision-insurance/

https://www.benzinga.com/money/is-vision-insurance-worth-it/

https://sighteyeclinic.com/why-you-need-an-eye-exam-even-if-you-dont-need-glasses/

back to Top

Dental-friendly Holiday Recipe: Swirled Chocolate Bark With Almonds

The holiday season is a time to celebrate with some festive treats, but many sticky and super sweet candies are really hard on your teeth. Fortunately, you don’t have to avoid all delicious foods to protect your teeth.

When it comes to sweet treats, keep this simple tip in mind: Choose chocolate. Chocolate — especially dark chocolate — has several health benefits. First, chocolate is less likely to stick onto your teeth than caramel or toffee, for example. Also, the darker the chocolate, the lower the sugar. Cavity-causing bacteria feeds on sugar, so reducing sugar in your diet reduces your cavity risk.

Almonds add a great crunch to this treat, in addition to calcium and protein. And with just three ingredients, this treat might be a favorite of yours long after the holidays.

Ingredients:

10 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup almonds, whole or chopped

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The larger the baking sheet, the thinner your bark will be.

2. Heat the dark chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water.

3. When the dark chocolate is a bit over half melted, remove it from heat and stir until it is completely melted.

4. Repeat the melting process for the white chocolate.

5. Spread dark chocolate onto baking sheet.

6. Drop spoonfuls of white chocolate randomly over the dark chocolate and use the tip of a knife to swirl the two chocolates together.

7. Scatter almonds over the swirled chocolate.

8. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

9. Break into pieces and enjoy.