Eyewear and Optical Dispensary

Our Optical Dispensary team can help you with all your eyewear needs. No matter what your prescription – even if you need special lenses – we can fill it. We offer:

• A wide selection of designer brand-name frames
• Frames for children of all ages
• Prescription and non-prescription sunglasses
• Same-day service for select frames and lenses

We are open to everyone, even if the Waterloo Eye Institute is not your regular eye care provider.

Specialty items

We offer:

• Medical filters and tints for therapeutic lenses
• Specialty lens designs for high prescriptions
• Myopia control lenses at competitive prices
• Prescription swim goggles, snorkel masks and ski goggles
• Prescription safety eyewear
• Moisture chamber glasses for dry eye disease

Try on frames virtually

Try Fitting Box, our virtual try-on technology, to find your next pair of glasses!

To use Fitting Box, you can use a webcam, which will allow you to virtually try on frames in real time and check out front and side views, or you can upload a photo.

Find frames you like? Click the heart next to the frames to “favourite” them. When you’ve got a list of favourites, click the heart in the top right-hand corner. Optionally, you can take a selfie that will show what you look like with the frames on. You can then either:

• Click the email icon to send the list to optical.services@uwaterloo.ca. (Tip: You can email anyone you like – even a friend for their opinion!)
• Scan the QR code that creates a pop-up window of your favourited frames. You can then simply show the screen to our staff at the time of your appointment.

Please note that Fitting Box is not an exhaustive catalogue. For a larger selection of frames, please make an appointment with our optical dispensary.

Ask a staff member for information about:

• Multi-pair discounts – individual and family
• Discounts for University of Waterloo students, employees and immediate family members
• The Eye-M-Growing multi-pair package – children 16 and under can get a second set of lenses at a discount, immediately or up to 16 months later

Paying for eyewear a challenge? We are happy to work with third-party programs such as Ontario Works (OW), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Interim Federal Health (IFH) and Eye See... Eye Learn (ESEL).