Dr. Van Heerden qualified as a dentist in 1977 from the University of Pretoria. He returned to Cape Town to specialise in periodontics and oral medicine. He completed his specialist training in 1985 and has been in private practice since. He has been involved in local dental politics since 1986; president of the Dental Association of the Western Cape in 1996/1997; the Periodontal Society of the Western Cape for 10 years. Currently, he is president of the South African Dental Association of the Western Cape. He has been on the National Executive Committee of the South African Society of Periodontology since 1990 and national president in 1994/1995 and 2002/2003. He is an inaugural member of the South African Society of Implantology and co-founder of the Cape Society of Implantology. Dr. Van Heerden has been involved nationally and internationally in lecturing on periodontics and implantology.