FIX AND FIT
Making It Work
by Alex Yoho, ABOM

Have you ever thought to yourself: "They just don't make frames like they used to?" If so, you join the ranks of dispensers who have experienced problems with frame functionality.

Some problems are caused by manufacturing, some by design, and some by style. ECPs also must take some of the blame when we are responsible for custom designing eyewear for our patients.

Knowing the pitfalls that pop up in today's eyewear categories, we can avoid using frames that will be problematic both for us and the patient.

POP STARS

Some frames seem to be prone to popping their lenses. One of the main causes is the propensity toward thinner eyewires. Thinner eyewires do look nice, but it follows that if an eyewire is thinner, the groove that the lens fits in will be more shallow than previous generations of eyewires.

With less grab on the lens due to this shallow groove and the likelihood of a thinner eyewire to stretch with less impact than one that is more substantial, lenses pop out of the frame more often.

ROCK 'N' ROLL

Brand new frames with the eyewire rolled can be a headache, as well. A rolled eyewire means that it has been manufactured so the eyewire doesn't fit perpendicular to the edge of the lens.

Instead of it fitting the lens properly, one edge of the eyewire (usually the front edge) lifts up off the bevel of the lens. The end result is another lens-popping situation.

Slightly rolled eyewires can be gently coaxed back to their normal perpendicular position with a pair of eyewire curving pliers. But, unless you are well practiced at it, you can make it worse or perhaps even destroy the frame.

A better bet is to take the roll out. Use the pliers sideways and start in the middle of the eyewire. Gently twist it back into position moving the pliers back and forth along the length of the eyewire top and bottom.

Next, match the curve of the eyewire to the lens by using the pliers in the normal manner. It is important to approach the base curve bend with the handles of the pliers on the same side that the eyewire was previously rolled outward.

This puts a bit more pressure on the side that was originally touching the lens to keep it from rolling again. Most likely you will have the handles on the front side of the frame.

WANDERING BARREL

Couple rotating barrels with the aforementioned rolled eyewire and you have a real problem. The most likely source of difficulty comes from the eyewire barrel opening, the area where the eyewire screw is inserted.

If the barrel is anywhere but behind the endpiece, trouble is not far off. Some say this is not a problem because a "V" is cut in the eyewire barrels to prevent them from rotating independently on each barrel.

However, if you've ever sized a lens, or mounted a lens where the eyewire closure barrels are in the nasal area or below the endpiece, you have experienced one of the most frustrating designs in optical frames today. There isn't enough stability to keep the area from rotating.

FASHION PASSION

Style has dictated many of the problems we have seen. Frame designers have been fond of long rectangular shapes, as well as the wildly popular wrapped frames.

For a frame to have the ability to secure a lens, it must have tension all the way around. Obviously the best design to do this would be a round frame since there are no corners to steal the pressure of the eyewire tension from other parts of the lens. Rectangular frames are notorious for this lens securing problem.

Sometimes this can be overcome by intentionally rolling the top and bottom eyewires so they put more grab on the front of the lens bevel. But, generally, it just makes the frame look a bit odd. And, with the slightest screw loosening, the lens will still pop out.

By all means, put your patients in rectangular frames. But during the selection process—when planning inventory and when working with patients—look for softer-cornered rectangles and deep-eyewire grooves. This will go a long way toward keeping lenses secure.

Avoid putting plus prescriptions in rectangular shapes unless you are willing to have the top and bottom of the lens protrude from the frame and to allow the bevel on the lens to follow the flatter back surface rather than the highly curved front of the lens.

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand some of the reasons that lenses pop out of frames, and how you can keep your clients' lenses in place. Keeping a close watch on the manufacture, design, and shape of the frames you offer—and weeding out the existing troublemakers—will make life a lot more pleasant for you as well as those you serve.