Dr. Dennis M. Brtva & Associates

This office is so great! They really went above and beyond to help when I had an out-​of-​town contact lens emergency. Plus, Optical was spacious, filled with what looked like a wide selection of frames. Again — great staff, super helpful. I’d definitely recommend this location! show less

During my senior year of high school I switched from glasses to contacts. I went to Dr. Brtva’s Peoria office, got an exam and purchased a year long supply of two-​week lenses.
This one year supply of two-​week lenses ran out last week, 6 and a half years after my original visit. Not being able to recall any negative memories from my first trip, I went back to Dr. Brtva to get an updated prescription, this time for both contacts and glasses.
Overall, I’d have to say they do a pretty good job. I had no problem setting up an appointment over the phone. They even pointed me towards a form on their website I could print out and fill out in order to save some time when I got there. I did and it did.
The wait wasn’t too bad. I had a 2 pm appointment and they called me in at about 2:10. I consider this an acceptable wait for a Dr’s office.
They start with a preliminary check. One of the assistants will take you into a room and get some basic stuff out of the way. I was asked a few simple questions, read a few lines from a projection, and took the color blind test. When I went into the room, I still had my contacts in and they were kind enough to give me a case and a little bit of solution –no charge– so I could pop them out before testing.
They encourage you to get your eyes dilated so they can do one more test. However, I declined when they told me it would cost $ 20 extra.
After that, it was back to they waiting room for 10 more minutes. Again, I can accept that type of wait.
Eventually I was called back by the doctor; after reviewing Dr. Brtva’s website, I can confidently say that it was Dr. Christopher Wetzler. I have nothing but good things to say about him. He was friendly and capable. When he was done he asked if I had any questions at all. I didn’t.
From there, I was shuttled to the contact fitting room. The assistant gave me a contact for each eye based on Dr. Wetzler’s findings. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. Dr. Wetzler took one more look to see how they were sitting in my eyes and agreed — they fit perfectly.
Now my only gripe (and it may be outside of their control, but…): I wasn’t given my prescription that day. I was told I had to wear the test pair for a week and then come back so they could check them again. I really didn’t think this was necessary. They fit perfectly. They felt no different than my old contacts. I asked them to make an exception in my case as I didn’t really want to make a second trip; I just wanted to take my prescription and order a few pairs online. No dice. They said they were not allowed to give me my prescription without a follow-​up. I guess they had to do what they had to do.
I went back last weekend for the follow-​up. They still fit perfectly. Shocker. Since I was there I went ahead and ordered 6 months worth of 30 day lenses. If 1 year’s worth of 2 week lenses lasted 6 years, I would only need half as many 30 day lenses for the next 6 years. Please note they explicitly told me I should not do this. However, they also told me my eyes are perfectly healthy, so I really fail to see the downside.
Final gripe: They had to order my lenses so I couldn’t have them that day. I have to go back for a third visit to pick them up. Grrr.
My bill was pretty reasonable. $ 58 for the eyeglasses exam. $ 70 for the contact’s exam (this included the pair of contacts they gave me to test). I don’t have eye insurance, so I think this is pretty reasonable.
My 6 months order of contacts cost $ 128. Again, I can’t complain — it seems fair to me.
I’m pretty impressed with Dr. Brtva’s practice. If my opinion of them changes, I’ll let you know in 6 years.