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Daily disposables could be the secret to winning back contact lens dropouts
By Jennifer Stewart, OD
Oct. 22, 2025
Contact lens dropout remains one of the biggest challenges in optometry. Patients may stop wearing lenses due to discomfort, dryness or changes in vision or lifestyle. Yet many would still prefer the freedom of contact lenses if they understood there are options to directly address those issues. In my practice, one-day contact lenses have become the key to reactivating these former wearers, creating a win-win scenario: happier patients and measurable practice growth.
Why Patients Drop Out… and Why They Come Back
In my experience, the most common reasons patients discontinue contact lens wear include dryness and blurred vision. There’s also the misconception that lenses are too inconvenient to clean, store and manage. While clinical challenges play a role, more often dropout happens because the right questions weren’t asked. Many patients assume that their options are limited, and in turn, doctors assume that patients aren’t interested if they don’t bring it up.
This is where innovations in one-day lenses have reshaped the landscape. Advances in materials, optics and design now provide comfort and performance across more prescriptions, including multifocal and toric designs that were once unavailable in the daily disposable category. Patients are often surprised—and relieved—to learn that these new options can solve the very problems that led them to stop wearing lenses in the first place.
One of my favorite examples is a woman in her mid-40s who had grown frustrated with her vision in monthly spherical lenses after the onset of presbyopia. Her prior experience with a different doctor left her thinking reading glasses were the only option. When I fit her with daily disposable multifocal lenses (MyDay® multifocal, in this case), she was thrilled, and she quickly became one of my top referral sources. Not only did she send friends my way, but she also posted a glowing online review that continues to attract new patients. That kind of organic advocacy is invaluable for a growing practice.
Daily Disposables as a Practice Growth Strategy
From a business perspective, reactivating former wearers with one-day lenses has been a clear growth driver. At my cold start practice, we actively track return rates, revenue per patient and capture rate. The impact shows up across key business metrics:
- More frequent exams: Contact lens wearers are more compliant about annual eye exams compared to spectacle-only patients. Reactivating former wearers means they’re more likely to return year after year.
- Higher revenue per patient: These patients not only purchase lenses, but they’re often more likely to invest in glasses as well. Our revenue per patient consistently runs above industry benchmarks, thanks in part to prescribing across a broad portfolio of daily disposable lenses.
- Annual supply sales: By prescribing one-day lenses and emphasizing the value of convenience and health, we’ve driven strong adoption of annual supply purchases, boosting both profitability and patient compliance.
- Premium lens adoption: Reactivated wearers are frequently willing to try premium designs, such as multifocal or toric lenses, because those technologies directly solve the issues that caused them to drop out. When patients experience this level of success, cost becomes less of a deciding factor.
Retaining and reactivating patients is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. And when those reactivated patients become ambassadors for the practice, the growth potential compounds.
Meeting Lifestyle Needs Builds Loyalty
Daily disposables also open lifestyle-driven conversations that build long-term loyalty. Patients appreciate how one-day lenses simplify travel, with no solution or cases to pack. They also support sports and special occasions and make part-time wear feasible without compliance concerns.
I can share from my own experience as a part-time wearer—I split my time between glasses and contacts, and daily disposables make that flexibility effortless. When patients see their doctor wearing the same technology, it reinforces confidence and trust.
I also stress how today’s lenses are designed for all-day comfort and clarity, while also offering options to address sustainability concerns. For patients hesitant about plastic waste, I highlight CooperVision’s Net Plastic Neutrality initiative and Bausch + Lomb’s One by One recycling program, which reduce environmental impact. Framing these conversations around shared values strengthens the provider-patient relationship.
Overcoming Hesitations
Despite the clear advantages, some practitioners may remain hesitant to rely heavily on one-day lenses, with cost being the most common objection. But when you account for the added expenses of solutions and cases, the gap is much smaller than many assume. In fact, the value proposition is clear: better comfort, vision, health—and stronger practice economics.
For colleagues who are unsure, I recommend a simple trial: take your next patient who is wearing reusable lenses and fit them in daily disposables. See the difference in their feedback. The confidence you build from even one successful fit makes it easier to present the option to more patients.
The Growth Opportunity Ahead
The greatest opportunity for continued growth in the one-day category lies in broadening the conversation. Too often, these lenses are reserved for part-time wearers or patients with certain prescriptions. But in reality, every patient can benefit. Our job is to present the best technology available every time.
The combination of reactivated former wearers and newly fit patients creates a powerful growth engine for the practice. For me, daily disposables have become a clinical solution and a cornerstone of my practice’s strategy, enhancing profitability, patient satisfaction and loyalty.
When patients feel seen, understood, and offered the best available technology, they are more likely to return, spend and refer. For practice owners, daily disposables aren’t just a product offering—they’re a growth strategy. Recommending them may be a great retention strategy in your practice for winning back contact lens dropouts.
Read another article by Dr. Stewart here.
Read more contact lens articles on ROB here.
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Jennifer Stewart, OD, is the founder of Look New Canaan in New Canaan, CT. Dr. Stewart is also the professional editor for Independent Strong. To contact her: jennifer.stewart@odperspectives.com. |
