 It is an indirect way of assessing how difficult an intubation will be; this is more definitively scored using the Cormack-Lehane classification system, which describes what is actually seen using direct laryngoscopy during the intubation process itself.A high Mallampati score (class 3 or 4) is associated with more difficult intubation as well as a higher incidence of sleep apnea.The score is assessed by asking the patient, in a sitting posture, to open his or her mouth and to protrude the tongue as much as possible.