We construct an optimal set of single-particle states for few-electron quantum dots (QDs) using the method of natural orbitals (NOs). The NOs include also the effects of the Coulomb repulsion between electrons. We find that they agree well with the n
oniteracting orbitals for GaAs QDs of realistic parameters, while the Coulomb interactions only rescale the radius of the NOs compared to the noninteracting case. We use NOs to show that four-electron QDs are less susceptible to charge noise than their two-electron counterparts.
