Dentures and Voice Changes

[tashirosgt]

I think that voices of both Johnny Carson and Sean Connery changed drastically in their later years. This was most noticeable when they pronounced sounds involving "s". A variety of things can cause a change in one's voice. It could be something as serious as a stroke. In the case of Carson and Connery, I wonder if it was dentures. I don't have dentures myself so I can't evaluate the plausibility of my theory. Is it a reasonable idea?

[sarongsong]

Any reason to suspect either uses/used dentures?
Connery's voice certainly became "s-rich", but don't recall Carson's doing so.

[mike alexander]

There may be something in your aural appraisal.

In Connery's case, though, he just seemed to get more Scottish with the passing of time. Much like Henry Kissinger's accent seemed to congeal over the decades

[Tinaa]

My speech did change a bit until I got used to it. I had to learn how to whistle all over again.

[grant hutchison]

Connery has had his lisp for many years, and I suspect he just doesn't bother to try to suppress it, now that it has become a trademark. He was known hereabouts as "Shemi-Shkimmed": a reference to his old job as a milkman.

Grant Hutchison