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The aim of this investigation was to compare Swedish and immigrant groups of 12- and 13-year-old boys and girls with respect to: (1) self-perceived need for and attitude to orthodontic treatment, (2) attitude to own teeth and general appearance, (3) behaviour pattern and psychosocial functioning, and (4) self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment in relation to psychosocial functioning. The subjects comprised 508 students, aged 12 and 13 years, living in Sweden, who were grouped according to nationality: (A) both parents born in Sweden (139 girls and 131 boys); at least one parent born in: (B) eastern Europe (27 girls and 34 boys); (C) Asia (66 girls and 61 boys) and (D) other countries (23 girls and 27 boys). Each student answered a questionnaire in the classroom. The questions concerned demographic data, self-perceived treatment need, attitude to orthodontic treatment, own teeth and general appearance, behaviour pattern and psychosocial functioning. The results showed that, on average, 20 per cent of the students had a self-perceived treatment need, more girls than boys, 24 per cent of Swedes (A), 12 per cent from eastern Europe (B), 18 per cent from Asia (C) and 14 per cent from other countries (D). Seventy-two per cent of the Swedish students were prepared to undergo fixed appliance therapy, compared with 58 per cent of immigrant students. Nine per cent of the Swedish students considered their general appearance to be less favourable compared with 7 per cent of their peers (not significant). While some differences in behaviour pattern were observed, these did not seem to influence the well-being of the subjects. The conclusion is that perceived orthodontic treatment need is lower in immigrant students than in Swedish students.