Comparison Between Trifocal Glasses, Bifocals and Progressive Lenses

Trifocal glasses and any of eyeglasses with multifocal lenses arose from the need to help people with presbyopia, to get rid the discomfort of wearing two pairs of glasses.

Along with advancement of technology in medical optics have appeared : first the bifocal eyeglasses, then the trifocals and finally the progressive lenses have monopolized the market of multifocal lenses.

Trifocal lenses vs. bifocal lenses

The trifocals were the next logical step after the bifocal lenses. Since bifocals contain the diopters for close vision and distance vision, the trifocal lenses are trying to please the clients for which the intermediary vision is equally vital.

To conclude, a trifocal lens looks like a bifocal lens with the pill for near vision, only on the top of the pill, there is a band of 7-8 mm which contains the intermediary vision part.

Trifocal lined lens vs. Bifocal lined lens

For you, this means that have only one eyeglass for all types of visions. The problem is that the vision parts, specially the intermediate one, are pretty narrow and to move the eye from one to the other diopters is difficult, making the adjustment harder.

Trifocal lenses vs. progressive lenses

Since the appearance of progressive lenses, they has successfully replaced the trifocal lenses and even took his place so at present, glasses with trifocal lenses are fewer.

Which are the differences that led to the supremacy of progressive lenses and decreased the sales of trifocal lenses:

Trifocal lined lens vs. Progressive lens

Trifocals have three diopters with sudden passing between them while progressive lens has all the intermediate diopters from the distance to near and for the eye is more easily to accommodate with the different distances
The dioptric bandwidth is fixed for the trifocal lenses while at the latest progressive lenses is variable allowing easier adaptation
The trifocal lenses customization is not based on the personal parameters of your eyes, while the progressive lens can be customized for you
The cost of trifocal lenses is not much smaller than the price of progressive lenses, so you do not have too many financial advantages
Progressive lenses are more aesthetic without the pill that the bifocals and the trifocals have

Over the time, I had clients who wanted the bifocals and trifocal eyeglasses, but the most of them prefer the progressive lenses.

I'm not trying to discredit the trifocal glasses, I even recommend them if you worn this type of lens before, in order to avoid accommodating other multifocal lenses.

But having at hand the latest progressive lenses with more options, being more comfortable and more easy to adjust, your choice should not be difficult.