Mark S Rusk, DDS

I am still a patient of Dr. Rusk’s and as happy as I was when I wrote this review in 2010.

I had a complicated cosmetic procedure that took more than 2 years — invisilign, root canal (not done by Dr. Rusk) and crowns. This man knows his stuff when it comes to cosmetic dentistry. The results were amazing. I was blown away.
He is also a great general dentist. His staff is terrific. They never waste your time or mess up scheduling and billing. These people are on top of it! I would highly recommend him.

Been going here for years very compassionate and sensitive staff. Especially Ketty the hygienist and Dr Rusk is very knowledgeable and like able in his chair side manner!

I met with Dr. Thornton and had a great experience. They were open during a big snow storm and were able to accommodate me on time. Everything was quick and easy. Great staff and Dr. Thornton was really friendly and explained everything that he was doing, which was much appreciated.

I have been going to Dr. Rusk for about 3 years. I love it! The staff is friendly and professional and the offices are clean and modern. Dr. Rusk is also a friendly man and always pleasant and helpful. I highly recommend them.

I’ve been to see Dr. Rusk twice now, and I am convinced I have found my dentist. I had a cleaning with Stacy; I have had bad experiences with hygienists in the past but Stacy was excellent. She was very friendly and wasn’t too rough. This was my second time seeing Dr. Rusk; he was very good at explaining my x-​rays including my three cavities. I have to go back again, but given the horror stories and number of dentists in DC at least I don’t have to worry about the quality of care.
I haven’t had a billing problem here so far or any problems with scheduling. The only thing I find ‘strange’ in the office is how loud the music is.

I just came from my first visit. From the time that I walked in, until I left, I was treated very well, which made the visit much less stressful than a trip to the dentist usually is. Dr. Rusk, and everyone that I dealt with were all very friendly and explained thigs fully, from my options on a dental issue, to explaining what my insurance will cover. A good friend recommended Dr. Rusk to me, and I would recommend them to anyone.

Everyone needs a dentist. At least you should…
Dr. Rusk is a wonderful dentist. He is thorough, thoughtful, and compassionate. I found his receptionists are accommodating and the billing department is very reasonable. The hygienists are kind, gentle, well-​trained, and professional.
Every office has a wait, but Dr. Rusk was mostly on-​time for every visit. I don’t understand those that complain about waiting and getting an appointment. Plan ahead and be patient.
Here are a couple recent experiences:
1) A bonding chipped. I noticed it at about 7AM. I called when the office opened at 7:30AM. I told them what happened and they said I could come in immediately! Dr. Rusk took his time in rebuilding the bond, ensuring it was perfect. When it came time to pay, the billing department took care of all the insurance paperwork. Now here is the amazing part: My insurance rejected the claim. I called Dr. Rusk’s office and explained and they said they would resubmit the claim with a personal letter from Dr. Rusk explaining the procedure! Although my insurance still rejected it (because my coverage isn’t great), I was very impressed at the personal level of service provided.
2) I am embarrassed to say I have a little guard to protect my grinding teeth. This is a special bit, designed to be small and inconspictuous. Somehow I lost it. I called Dr. Rusk to get another and they got me in right away for a fitting. The specialty item is expensive but the billing department was happy to make payment arrangements! I was surprised! The amazing part: I found the item but had already ordered the new one. I was going to be stuck with both. However when I went in to get the new piece shaped Dr. Rusk noticed it wasn’t done well. Instead of sending away for a new one, he refunded my money (ALL OF IT) and said to stick with the one I previously had since it worked!
WOW… great dentist.

I would like to hope I would be this enthusiastic about Dr. Rusk’s office even if my appointment had not turned out so well for me.
Fong, my dental hygienist, let me know what was happening as she worked. Which I so appreciated. It had been too many YEARS since I’d seen anyone and I was nervous.
Again with the great explanations, Dr. Rusk let me know exactly what was up with my teeth and what I could expect to see happen.
So satisfied

How many stars can you really give to a trip to the dentist?
I’ve highly recommended Dr. Rusk’s office for those who need a good dentist in the downtown area. I found him realistic and helpful, and the hygienists efficient, effective, and cheerful. If you’ve been putting off a trip to the dentist, make an appointment here.
My only real complaint is that they are so busy that it is hard to get an appointment quickly. I gather that this is exacerbated by the mandatory consultation for new patients, although I scheduled a consultation and a cleaning at the same time and didn’t have much of a problem. in any case, if the worst thing that you can say about them is that they are too popular, it still means you should go if you can.

This is not a good place for new patients. The staff are rude and unaccommodating. They require you to come in for a pre-​visit before they will even schedule a cleaning.
They don’t always call the day before the remind you about your appointment, which most offices will do. I will be going to see someone else and would recommend others to do the same.

I met Dr. Rusk when he was working with my previous dentist, a dentist whom I eventually decided to leave due to his very poor manner with patients. It was then that I remember Dr. Rusk, whom I’d always liked and preferred to my own dentist. I rang him up and started seeing him about 2 – 3 years ago, and since that time, I’ve been nothing but happy with the change I’ve made: I know have an exceptionally competent, talented dentist who has helped me achieve maximum dental health. I also think his dental assistants are first rate – they are friendly and warm and do their work very well indeed. I feel I have one of the very best dentists in DC.

I recently started going to Dr. Rusk and have to say that he and his staff are the best I’ve encountered. They are friendly, professional, and thorough. I had a broken filling replaced and the whole event was low-​stress. Billing was appropriate (much more so than the other dentist I had seen) though this may have been in part due to an improvement in insurance. Overall, I would strongly recommend this practice.

Dr. Rusk is great. He was honest about what I needed, prices, etc. I just had a bad experience at Dr. Knoll’s in the same building, who are overpriced and overeager to prescribe night guards and other contraptions that I couldn’t afford.
The best thing for me about Dr. Rusk are a) his prices and b) his demeanor. He was less than half the price for cleanings, exams than Dr. Knoll. More importantly, he was very honest about what I may need in the future, the ability to pay over time, etc. It was really refreshing to go in to Dr. Rusk and have him be so forthcoming and friendly.
I highly highly recommend this dentist to everyone. You will be hard-​pressed to find such a great dentist at such a low-​price.

Just got back from my first appointment. Great staff, and Dr. Rusk is a nice guy and I think I’m going to like having him as a dentist.
I was able to schedule appointments easily, and the staff were friendly each time and Dr. Rusk greeted me by name (especially good given that I don’t go by my first name, and he greeted me by what I had put in the «preferred name» box — most people ignore that).
First time around was X-​rays and him looking around at things, making notes. I go back for a cleaning next week. I think that’s the first time I’ve had it split between two appointments. Interesting.

If you’ve read some of my reviews, you’ll see that i recently had a terrible experience with a DC dental practice. You can go read the reviews if you want, I’ll wait.
:taps foot:
Okay, now that you’re back, you can see that I’ve recently had some dental calamities, and I was looking for a practice that had their proverbial sh*t together. This practice belongs to Dr. Rusk.
They were able to get me in the day after I called for my cracked filling. I was greeted immediately by Cindy, the hygienist. She saw I was filling out paperwork, so she came back as soon as I was done. She was very friendly, she commented on my engagement ring and how pretty it was.
When Dr. Rusk came in, he greeted me by name and asked what my problem was, even though I know he and the hygienist were talking about what had happened. He was very friendly and told me we had some other work to do, and that this particular tooth needed a root canal (groan!) He does not perform this procedure, so he referred me to another practice in Dupont Circle. They take my insurance, so we’re good there.
Checking out was a breeze, the girl I’d talked to on the phone asked how I was feeling, which I thought was very thoughtful.
I highly recommend Dr. Rusk’s office, especially if you work in the area. They won’t waste your time.

I’ve had to have major dental work over the past year. I feel that I’m so lucky that Dr. Rusk is my dentist. I seem to have lots of questions about the procedures. Dr. Rusk patiently answers them. You can tell he really cares about his patients. The office runs on time. I typically get the 2:10PM appointment and am always called by 2:11 at the latest. Billing is clear and simple as well.

Dr. Rusk and his friendly staff are always there when I need them. My partner was going to a terrible dentist and when he really had an emergency, Dr. Rusk and everyone in the office came to our rescue. From the waiting room to the exam room, his team is warm and professional. I feel very fortunate to have found this practice. Great location, great digital office and a great dentist.

I’ve been going to Dr. Rusk for 8 years now, and I think he’s a really good dentist. His office is just half a block from the Farragut West metro too, so it’s pretty convenient. They do a good job with the billing too — if they take your insurance.