Phillip Nguyen calls his craft a combination of dentistry and metallurgy. For his clients, it's a reason to flash a big smile.

At his business, Yung Metal Syndicate, Nguyen makes custom jewelry, like rings and ear cuffs, but the main product is grillz — teeth jewelry.

It started when he studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design to figure out what equipment and metalworking knowledge he needed.

"At first, it just came to me as a personal interest and then I also realized there wasn't really a market for grillz in Calgary," said Nguyen. "I think there's a lot of opportunities and a lot of money to be made here."

Though he calls it a niche art form, he's also busy with customers, with half a dozen on the go right now. The whole process, from casting a mould of their teeth to putting the final polish on the custom piece, takes about two weeks — time that's well worth it, say his clients.

"I just feel like I can be myself when it comes to wearing my jewelry at any time," said Francis Bui, one of his clients. "I'm just always smiling around everybody when I have them [in].

"I like how he does custom pieces because there's no one in the city who really makes custom pieces."

WATCH | Calgary artist carves out a niche making grillz, the teeth jewelry with roots in hip-hop culture:

That self-expression is at the core of Nguyen's work.

"Just being able to make anything at any time that represents what I'm feeling or what others are feeling, is also a really good feeling — to know that I'm able to help somebody bring their self expression vision to fruition," he said.

Calgary artist Contemporary Vice, who has had two pieces done by Nguyen and has a third planned, likes the customization and creativity of the process.

"It's very much a collaborative thing, you have the idea so that's your input of energy and then he helps make that idea become a reality," they said.

Jose Lacera made the decision to get grillz on impulse when Nguyen was at a hip-hop event offering on-the-spot moulds.

"This is what hip-hop's all about, so I feel like Phil's bringing that aspect into the community," said Lacera.

When he received the finished piece, he says he felt "almost like royalty."

"He's blinging out your mouth and it's awesome."

Police in Ottawa say they were ready for the anti-government demonstrators expected to make their voices heard on Canada Day. While the morning started quietly, Abigail Bimman looks at how crowds grew as the day progressed.

MONTREAL — A Quebec housing advocacy group says it's worried there will be a record number of households left without somewhere to live on the province’s July 1 moving day. “On the eve of July 1, in Quebec, we count 750 renter households that have not found housing,” said Véronique Laflamme, a spokeswoman for the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain, in an interview. That estimate is based on requests for aid received by municipal housing offices in the province, Laflamme said, and c

A year after Lytton, B.C., was destroyed by fire, there are calls for wider use of traditional Indigenous fire-keeping as a way to help guard against similar disasters.

People on Prince Edward Island who test positive for COVID-19 will be legally required to self-isolate for a while longer. The province announced Thursday it has extended its isolation mandate by two more weeks. Islanders with COVID-19 must isolate for seven days from when symptoms began or from the date of their positive COVID-19 test. Those who are immunocompromised must do so for 10 days. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said that with cases going up, now is not the time to ph

VICTORIA — BC Ferries says an engine problem on a major vessel travelling between Vancouver Island and the mainland has resulted in service cancellations between Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay. Spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the Queen of Alberni will be out of service until Saturday to allow for repairs. A travel advisory posted on BC Ferries' website says a total of eight sailings out of either Departure or Horseshoe Bay are cancelled Thursday, but other sailings from both terminals will continue

Here's the latest for Friday July 1st: Biden meets with Democratic governors on abortion; WNBA star Brittney Griner's trial begins in Russia; Julian Assange appeals to UK court against extradition to US; Snow falls in Sydney for young Tasmanian Devils.

Spectators gathered in St. John's Friday for a sombre service to honour the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which lost many of its soldiers in a First World War battle more than a century ago. Hundreds watched marching bands and heard speeches, while descendants of the soldiers laid wreaths and framed photos of family members lost at Beaumont Hamel The battle was a defining moment for the Regiment, many of whom never came home, and has etched itself into Newfoundland history. On July 1, 1916, Briti

Survivors and families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are speaking out against a Saudi Arabia-funded golf tour that has its first U.S. event starting Thursday in Oregon (June 30)

Ecuadorian Indigenous people celebrate after their leaders and the government signed a deal that would cut fuel prices and end cost-of-living protests that largely paralysed the country for 18 straight days.View on euronews

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) -The suspected driver of a truck packed with dozens of migrants who died in blazing heat during a Texas smuggling attempt was allegedly under the influence of methamphetamine when police encountered him, a U.S. lawmaker told Reuters, citing information from law enforcement. San Antonio police officers found Homero Zamorano Jr, a Texas native, hiding in brush near the abandoned tractor-trailer on Monday, according to documents filed in federal court on Thursday. Fifty-three migrants lost their lives, making it the deadliest such trafficking incident on record in the United States.

Here's the latest for Friday July 1st: Ukraine says Russian missiles hit Odesa residential buildings; Poll shows abortion and women's rights becoming higher priority in US; Supreme Court ruling could affect Biden climate policies; 9 shot in Newark, NJ.

HONG KONG (Reuters) -There is no reason to change Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" formula of governance, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on a rare visit to the global financial hub after swearing in the city's new leader, John Lee, on Friday. Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, with Beijing promising wide-ranging autonomy, unfettered individual rights and judicial independence at least until 2047. China's critics accuse authorities of trampling on those freedoms, unavailable on the authoritarian mainland, with a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing on the city in 2020 after mass pro-democracy protests the year before.

Snow falls in Sydney for young Tasmanian Devils

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Thursday the Biden administration can scrap a Trump-era immigration policy that was at the center of efforts to deter asylum-seekers, forcing some to wait in Mexico. Two conservative justices joined their three liberal colleagues in siding with the White House. The justices' decision came in a case involving former President Donald Trump's “Remain in Mexico” policy, formally know as Migrant Protection Protocols, which enrolled about 70,000 people after it

Two Pack Tuesdays episode 17 - Welcome Back and thank you for joining us. This week we dive into our 2nd box of UD series 2. Lots of rookies to chase. Hopefully we hit one of the big ones. I have a feeling that this is one of those boxes a person will want to keep sealed and sell it 5-6 yrs or longer from now. Let us know what you think. Thanks for watching!

OTTAWA — Thousands of celebrants who flocked to the national capital for Canada Day festivities heard an impassioned appeal for unity on Friday as the prime minister urged them to reclaim the Maple Leaf as a national symbol. The exhortation from Justin Trudeau and other dignitaries came on another potentially divisive day in Ottawa, as those intent on marking the first in-person Canada Day celebrations since the COVID-19 pandemic honoured the occasion alongside protesters opposed to public healt

HALIFAX — The contract-tendering process for a major development of a Halifax hospital will continue despite the fact there is only one bidder left, Nova Scotia’s premier said Wednesday. Tim Houston told reporters that the Halifax Infirmary project remains under “active procurement" after one of two interested parties dropped out. “The qualified bidders knew the process,’ said Houston. “They’ll make their decisions as they go through the process, but the province is committed to seeing that proc

TORONTO — Ontario legislators will return to provincial parliament on Aug. 8. Premier Doug Ford says the legislature will sit for approximately five weeks. The main item on the agenda is debate and voting on the provincial budget that was introduced but not passed before the spring election. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has said the budget will be largely the same as what was introduced this spring, with some changes, including an increase in Ontario Disability Support Program funding. It

There's no word on when a grocery store in Kentville, N.S., will reopen after a fire Friday afternoon left the front of the building damaged. Kentville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Hamilton said crews responded a call for a fire at an Independent Grocer location on Main Street at about 4 p.m. Friday. Hamilton said firefighters found heavy smoke around pillars at the front of the building. He said the fire travelled up one of the pillars to the roof. The store was closed for Canada Day.

Medication abortions became the preferred method for ending pregnancy in the U.S. even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. These involve taking two prescription medicines days apart — at home or in a clinic. Abortion procedures are an invasive medical technique that empties the womb. They are sometimes called surgical abortions, although they don’t involve surgery. Abortion by pills involves the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. As more states seek abortion limits, demand for the