Mallampati Classification

Actually, the amount of the posterior pharynx you can visualize is important and correlates with the difficulty of intubation.

Visualization of the pharynx is obscured by a large tongue (relative to the size of the mouth), which also interferes with visualization of the larynx on laryngoscopy. The Mallampati Classification is based on the structures visualized with maximal mouth opening and tongue protrusion in the sitting position (originally described without phonation, but others have suggested minimum Mallampati Classification with or without phonation best correlates with intubation difficulty).