Lasik and dental school

[Neurodent]

I was wondering if anyone had the lazer corrective eye surgery done while in dental school? (or before/after).
I wear a heavy prescription and just found out that I would be a good candidate for Lasik.

I'm nervous about losing visual acuity and sharpness when I focus on very tiny grooves, corners, angles, or what ever is visually required to evaluate teeth etc..., which I believe is extremely important in dentistry.

Of course my Ophtho says I will not have any problems. But I'm wondering if anyone has done the procedure and if you can comment.

Thanks

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[Yah-E]

I had my LASIK surgery done back in 2001. As a full-time student and as a Pre-dental student back then, one of my main concern was how long would the miracle of LASIK last with all the book and computer reading that I will be facing?!

My surgeon told me back then that I have nothing to worry about and now 3 years post-op, I'm still seeing perfectly! If you're confirmed as a great candidate for the surgery, then I'd HIGHLY recommend it!

I absolutely love the fact that I don't have to deal with contact lenses and glasses anymore! I believe one of my classmate just got his LASIK surgery done this past summer and he's doing really well as well!

Good luck, oh BTW, my surgery cost $4500 in Minneapolis, MN.

 

[LestatZinnie]

wow..that's expensive. here in vancouver there is an eye surgeon who offer to have it done for about $1500USD. He's not a bad doc either- it's just his philosophy to make it affordable to everyone and deal in volume.

Yah-E, do you have any problem with night-vision after the surgery?

 

[dragonfly9]

I'm jealous, Yah-E! I have to wear contacts or glasses and I found out that I'm NOT a good candidate for Lasik because I have large pupils. Who would have thought? I guess people with large pupils have problems with floaters and glare. . . probably not a desirable possible side effect.

PS Dental school is going well. . .can't believe I'm so far into my first year! Hope things are well in sunny FL

 

[preludexl]

Originally posted by dragonfly9
I'm jealous, Yah-E! I have to wear contacts or glasses and I found out that I'm NOT a good candidate for Lasik because I have large pupils. Who would have thought? I guess people with large pupils have problems with floaters and glare. . . probably not a desirable possible side effect.

PS Dental school is going well. . .can't believe I'm so far into my first year! Hope things are well in sunny FL

Give them a few more years, they'll come out with something new. I remember when RK was the biggest thing in the early 90s. As for Lasik, I will wait 3-4 more years. Not enough long term clinicals on it.

 

[organic]

dentists would have veneers on themselves. Not a problem

But

would opthamologists have LASIK done to themselves as well? I rarely even see them wearing contacts.....

 

[Yah-E]

I have a very fortunate outcome with my surgery. I have no night vision problems as they refer them as "halo effects" where you see glare of lights. I do hear, however, LASIK patients have this aftermath from time to time.

U.S. LASIK surgeries are more expensive than what Canadian surgeons will charge. Even back when I had the surgery done, Canada was only charging $1000 an eye. Since it's my own "window of soul" (what they call eyes), I rather spend the money and have my surgeon where I can reach him when I needed him post-op immediately.

As for waiting longer for research statistics, LASIK has already been around for more than 10+ years! I believe the clinical results and outcomes are pretty solid and reliable. Just last month, I read about some new, more accurate & precise Excimer Laser (3rd generation) came out that was used by Opthalmologists now that produces even higher statistics of success rate. Just like any health professional, Opthalmologists probably have their own colleages perform on them instead of them performing on themselves.

Having the LASIK surgery done consciously is the most amazing surgical experience that I have experienced (I also had my 3rd molars extracted wide awake with only local anesthetics). There is about 2-3 seconds where you are actually blind during the LASIK surgery when the surgeon is creating the corneal flap. The surgeon actually told me this....

"Alright Andy, you'll go blind for about 2 seconds here....(as the room turns pitch black)"

and then you can see like 50Xs better immediately after the surgery! The entire actual surgery under the laser machine takes about 5 minutes. The entire surgery (prep, surgery, etc.) only lasted about half-an-hour.

You're able to see immediately, after a week, your vision returns to just about 90%. Of course everyone recovers differently, but in general, you're able to go about your normal routine right away. No need to take off work. Only exercise that was prevented were swimming related activities. Showers were fine. Also, my surgeon recommended and did only one eye at a time. My two LASIK surgeries (one for each eye) were scheduled a day apart to minimize complications.

Again, you got the funds and you've been granted a "green light" for surgery, then I say GO FOR IT!!

Dragonfly:

Can you believe that you're almost finished with first year? Things are going very well down here in FL for me so far. Lots of exams just like every other dental students out there. That's too bad that your pupils are so LARGE which prevents you have the surgery done (they're still beautiful though)!!!! Alright girl, study hard and keep us updated!

 

[ItsGavinC]

This year of school has completely trashed my eyes. I'll be getting surgery in the next couple of years.

 

[organic]

Yah-E

thanks for sharing your experience.

Could you tell us if you have experienced dry eyes after LASIK? My friend seems to start using a lot of eye drops after LASIK,and she said the surgery did make her eyes more dry

 

[DcS]

I had lasik done while a jr in college, with the same results as Yah-e. Got my vision to 20-15, no halo effect, no other side effects. Only 1 negative...5 years later, my long distance vision is deteriorating a bit. I think it's due to the amount of time staring at a computer screen, minute details of a prep and endless pages in textbooks. I knew when I got the surgery done I'd prob need glasses again in my 40s (that's what the dr told me), but was hoping it would last a bit longer. I'm not sure if it's because my eyes are continuing to grow/change or if my dental regimen started or accelerated these changes.

 

[aggie-master]

Would you guys recommend getting LASIK before starting dental school?

 

[drat]

Yah-E

thanks for sharing your experience.

Could you tell us if you have experienced dry eyes after LASIK? My friend seems to start using a lot of eye drops after LASIK,and she said the surgery did make her eyes more dry

My boyfriend just had Lasik 2 weeks ago...His vision was pretty poor -- his contacts were in the -7.00+ range. He was hesitant about doing the surgery because he has problems with dry eyes and now post-op, his eyes are more dry than they were to begin with. I should say that we live in the northeast where the air is very dry in the winter. He is hoping that his eyes will be better now that spring/summer is approaching and humidity will increase. (He has a humidifier in his office and home, but that doesn't seem to improve anything, unfortunately)

Regarding the eyedrops: For about a week after the surgery, he had 3 different kinds of prescription eye drops (moisture, steroids, and an antibotic) but he still puts the moisture drops in constantly...wakes up in the middle of the night because he's scratching his eyeballs to death because they are sooooo dry...the dryness is quite uncomfortable for him.

Other than the dryness, he is thrilled with the surgery. His vision is not perfect but he can see 20/25. Now his vision is better than mine and this has grossly changed the dynamics of our relationship (he thinks he's better than me). I would consider Lasik as well (20/150 vision) but I have a wicked astigmatism that would be difficult to correct. Plus I can't even keep my eyes open to put drops in them, so my boyfriend said I would really struggle with the surgery. Oh well.

 

[angeeeeee]

interestingly enough I was getting my yearly eye exam yesterday and asked the Dr. about lasik and today i see this post. anyways, i asked her if i should get it and her response was to wait until mid to late 20s because people's eyes are still changing alot during this time. just thought i would throw you guys that bit of info if you are considering the procedure in the near future.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I had my pre-LASIK appointment last week. I have such a bad case of myopia (-10 and -8.5) that it was assumed my corneas would be too thin to do a flap.

My tests showed that my corneas were plenty thick, so LASIK is a go for me.

 

[onetoothleft]

I have been meaning to get it done as well. I have -8.0 in each eye. Have any of you found out what your school says about financing it?? Would they be willing to add 4000 to your loan, or do they just laugh in your face.

my doctor said that astigmatism can be corrected fairly easily with the new computer technologies that map your eyes. She said it is much more accurate in giving you perfect vision than the manual practices.

 

[GoGatorsDMD]

Damn, I didn't think that the surgery was still that expensive. I thought the boom of opthos who were doing LASIK put the price lower.

 

[Yah-E]

Yah-E

thanks for sharing your experience.

Could you tell us if you have experienced dry eyes after LASIK? My friend seems to start using a lot of eye drops after LASIK,and she said the surgery did make her eyes more dry

I don't experience any "drier" eyes, but I don't experience dry eyes in the first place. Everyone is different right? I'm now 4 year post-op, accordingly to my own experiences, I believe I still see 20/20. However, I have not been to an optometrist and/or an opthalmologist for over 2 years now. I should make an appointment so get my eyes checked again to see how well my LASIK is holding up.

I have been meaning to get it done as well. I have -8.0 in each eye. Have any of you found out what your school says about financing it?? Would they be willing to add 4000 to your loan, or do they just laugh in your face.

Mine were -9.5 dioptors in both eyes in contact lens prescriptions. My normal optical lens prescriptions were worse. My results turned out pretty good! My good o parents financed the procedure for me, "thank you mom and dad!", but I know for sure that you dental school will laugh at your face. No financial aid office will increase your budget for elective surgery or for any surgeries period!

If that was the case, then I can guarantee you that many girls would took advantage of that and get breast augs and lipoplasties. You'll have to finance it through a comestic surgery finance services or private consumer loans/line of credit.

I had my pre-LASIK appointment last week. I have such a bad case of myopia (-10 and -8.5) that it was assumed my corneas would be too thin to do a flap.

My tests showed that my corneas were plenty thick, so LASIK is a go for me.

Do it pal! You'll love it, no more worrying about "coke bottle" glasses anymore or not be able to see your alarm clock!

Damn, I didn't think that the surgery was still that expensive. I thought the boom of opthos who were doing LASIK put the price lower.

It will always be expensive if there are still demands for the procedure. Further, well known top local surgeons will always charge a high fee if not increase them along with inflation. Always go to a top local surgeon! I recommend to invest at least $4000 for the procedure, if your surgeon charges any less, I would question his credentials and request to see his CV.

Any rookie Opthalmologist can sit under a Exicimer Laser and press bottons and hold a joystick for five minutes. You're basically looking to pay for your surgeon's experience, so look for an experienced surgeon!

LASIK is da bomb baby!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Would they be willing to add 4000 to your loan, or do they just laugh in your face.

Good luck trying to get them to add $100 to your loan, let alone 4k.

 

[TylerDMD]

I went to LasikPlus in Tampa about 3 years ago. I love my vision (20/15). I don't have many side-effects besides slightly worse night vision. I'm a pilot also and this is a slight problem landing at night although I've learned to compensate....My Dad had it done and it accelerates his prebyopia.

But, what's the worst about it is how DRY my eyes are. Do your homework about how the flap cuts the superficial corneal nerves that tell the eye when to tear. Everyone's are cut, most regenerate although some don't. I don't use drops because they don't last very long and are a pain but my eyes are absolutely dryer than they used to be.

Would I do it again....probably but the dry eyes is a huge problem for me.

 

[scraders]

i'm from the optometry forum...

have you guys heard of orthokeratology? it's kinda like braces for the eye...and yes, you do need to wear retainer lenses once in awhile because the cornea will want to revert back to its original shape.

i just wanted to let you know that there are alternative ways of reshaping the cornea than refractive surgery. if you want to rid yourself of contacts completely, then this procedure probably isn't for you.

 

[ItsGavinC]

i'm from the optometry forum...

have you guys heard of orthokeratology? it's kinda like braces for the eye...and yes, you do need to wear retainer lenses once in awhile because the cornea will want to revert back to its original shape.

Interesting stuff.

 

[wimmcs]

I had my LASIK surgery done about 3 months ago and I can now see 20/15. (even right after surgery ) Both my eyes were 20/200... not too bad, but I am experiencing rather uncomfortable dry eyes as some people have indicated. I do use drops and I just hate the feeling of dry eyes. Also, imagine in Arizona where the weather is just super dry!!

BUT, I do love being able to see without glasses/contacts... it's a wonderful feeling of freedom and I would do the procedure again in a heartbeat!!!

 

[Yah-E]

i'm from the optometry forum...

have you guys heard of orthokeratology? it's kinda like braces for the eye...and yes, you do need to wear retainer lenses once in awhile because the cornea will want to revert back to its original shape.

i just wanted to let you know that there are alternative ways of reshaping the cornea than refractive surgery. if you want to rid yourself of contacts completely, then this procedure probably isn't for you.

My roommate's girlfriend is a 3rd year optometry student here at NSU and she is a participant for orthokeratology research here at her college. She claimed that it's working for her! Indeed, interesting!