Most people have a dentition with individual morphologic characteristics and exhibit dental arches deviating from strict ideal norms. Such deviations may be small rotations only or slightly tipped teeth. In other cases the deviations are so marked that it is justified to term the dentition a malocclusion. Not all these deviations and malocclusions need to be corrected. Hence it is important to be able to decide when it is beneficial for the patient to receive orthodontic treatment. A decisive factor in the evaluation of the treatment need is patients' perception of malocclusions. Investigations have shown that most patients initiate orthodontic treatment after consulting their regular dentist. It is important that the latter are updated about treatment indications and potential. In the present paper the recent documentation on orthodontic treatment need is described and discussed.