During your exam, the doctor will check your vision acuity for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia, as well as other refractive conditions. The doctor will check the general health of your eyes using a slit lamp to examine the front and inside your eyes. Additional routine screening is preformed which measures the pressure within your eye to screen for certain eye diseases. Lastly, the doctor will review photos of your eyes, and compare past photos, to view optic nerve cupping, the paths of your arteries and veins, and the overall health of your retina. Changes in your eye can lead to a health diagnosis that stem elsewhere in the body.

If further testing is required a more comprehensive exam and possible testing will be scheduled. Routine exams are recommended every two years for a young, healthy eye. Otherwise, yearly exams may be scheduled.