Orthokeratology
Clear Vision, Without A Trace
OrthoK reshapes your cornea while you sleep, so you wake up seeing clearly with nothing worn all day, and for progressing children, it slows myopia at the same time.
OrthoK reshapes your cornea while you sleep, so you wake up seeing clearly with nothing worn all day, and for progressing children, it slows myopia at the same time.
Orthokeratology, OrthoK for short, uses a custom-designed, rigid, gas-permeable lens worn overnight to gently and temporarily reshape the front surface of the eye, the cornea. That reshaping refocuses light the same way glasses or daytime contact lenses do, so when the lenses come out in the morning, vision stays clear throughout the day.
It's a genuinely different way to correct short-sightedness: nothing is worn during waking hours at all. For children and teenagers whose myopia is still progressing, it does something else too, slowing how much the eye keeps elongating, which we cover in detail on our Myopia Control page.
Each lens is custom-designed from a detailed 3D map of your cornea, called corneal topography, rather than picked off a shelf. Its unique curve profile applies gentle, precisely calculated pressure to specific zones of the cornea overnight, flattening the central cornea just enough to correct myopia.
The change is temporary by design, held in place by the fluid layer under the lens and the eyelid's normal pressure while you sleep. Wear the lenses consistently overnight and the correction holds through the day; stop wearing them and the cornea gradually drifts back to its original shape over several days, which is exactly what makes OrthoK fully reversible.
OrthoK works well across a genuinely broad range of ages and lifestyles.
One of the best-evidenced myopia control treatments, slowing progression while correcting vision, with nothing worn at school or sport.
No daytime lenses or glasses to fog up, fall out, or be exposed to pool and open water, a common frustration with standard contact lenses.
Tradies, farmers and anyone in dusty, windy or air-conditioned environments that make daytime contact lens wear uncomfortable.
A non-surgical alternative to laser eye surgery for adults who'd rather not wear glasses or daytime contact lenses but aren't ready for, or don't want, surgery.
OrthoK works well for low to moderate myopia, generally up to around -4.50D to -6.00D with limited astigmatism. Higher prescriptions can still respond well in the right candidate, though predictability varies more, which is why we assess every case individually with corneal topography before recommending it.
OrthoK is one of the most researched myopia control treatments available. Clinical trials, including studies tracking axial length rather than prescription alone, have consistently shown OrthoK slows eye elongation by around 50% or more compared with standard glasses or contact lens wear, with the greatest benefit typically seen in the first year of treatment.
Response does vary between individuals, and OrthoK isn't guaranteed to stop progression entirely for every child, but a meaningful slowing translates directly into lower lifetime risk of the eye health conditions covered on our Myopia-Related Eye Diseases page. Our Evidence-Based Treatment page explains how we weigh this alongside the other myopia control options we offer.
Explore the details of our fitting program, our experience with complex cases, lens care, and how to order replacement lenses.
What to expect from your first consultation through to your first weeks of overnight wear.
Learn more →Why fitting experience matters, particularly for complex prescriptions and astigmatism.
Learn more →Already wearing OrthoK? Order replacement lenses and care products through our clinic.
Learn more →Step-by-step insertion, removal, cleaning and storage instructions, plus video walkthroughs.
Learn more →Book a consultation and we'll assess your cornea, prescription and lifestyle to find out whether OrthoK is a genuinely good fit.