When purchasing eye glasses, a key component is making sure that the glasses fit well and are adjusted to your face and head. There are several ways that glasses can be adjusted or modified to fit the best that they can. The three main ways that glasses are adjusted to fit include altering the temples or legs, changing the nose pieces, and adjusting the tilt of the frame. A trained optician or optometrist can use these adjustments to make sure that the glasses fit well and provide the best possible vision.
Why Eye Glasses Need Fit to Your Face
All glasses are not made with the same dimensions and all faces are not exactly alike. A frame that has longer temples will need to be shortened to fit a smaller head and a frame that has a small lens height will need to sit higher than one with a large lens.
These differences are an important consideration when purchasing a frame and then after receiving the glasses.
If the frame is a bad fit, it may be difficult to ever attain a comfortable position with good vision.
Likewise, a good-fitting frame paired with the right prescription can make for the best overall vision and provide clear, comfortable vision.
Adjusting the Temples of Eye Glasses
The biggest adjustments to frames are made in the temples. This can straighten a frame that is sitting crooked on the nose, raise or lower a frame that is too high or too low, and prevent the frame from slipping down the nose.
To straighten a frame, the temple of the lower side can be raised or the temple of the higher side can be lowered.
This temple adjustment is confirmed by placing the frame on a flat surface upside down. If the frame is properly aligned, there will be no wobble when any corner is touched.
To prevent the frame from sliding down the nose, the temples can be curved to align behind the ears and fit more snugly.
Adjusting the Nose Pieces of Eye Glasses
To raise or lower where glasses sit on the face, the nose pieces can be adjusted. Tightening the nose pieces, or bringing them closer together, will cause the frame to sit higher on the face.
Conversely, if the nose pieces are spread further apart, the frame will sit lower on the face and nose.
These adjustments are particularly important for bifocal glasses as they can alter the height of the bifocal on the face.
Adjusting the Tilt of Eye Glasses
The tilt of glasses can be altered both in the way the top of the lens sits further from the face than the bottom of the lens and how the edge of the frame is closer to the face than the center.
These adjustments must be done prior to placing the lenses in the frame as it can alter the prescription if these types of adjustments are made after the lenses are placed.
It is common for sunglasses, safety glasses, and sports glasses to have a large amount of tilt around the face and this type of tilt can be adjusted to better fit the face if needed.