Can your wisdom teeth become infected while they are surfacing and if so how can you tell the difference between the pain from wisdom teeth surfacing and infection?

Answer: Clarification: 1.Does the infected wisdom teeth mean the wisdom tooth had a cavity while it was partially erupting and that there was no means for the tooth to be cleaned properly because malpostion. Then the large cavities will in turn became the cause of the infected tooth. TOOTH PAIN 2. While the wisdom tooth was partially erupting the gums around it was swollen and sore? GUM PAIN
PAIN TEST TOOTH PAIN- pain is constant and not tolerable GUM PAIN - pain is on and off and is tolerable
RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATION The dentist will know better if you have a periapical x-ray of the wisdom tooth area and wil immediately confirm the infection of tooth.  

Answer

Yes, it can become infected around the gums while coming in. That is pretty common. The best thing to do is keep it very clean. This will be a bit painful at first, but then as it gets clean, it will feel better. Your best option is to go to a dentist and most likely have them removed. Very few people have room for their wisdom teeth. You can tell the difference between pain from erupting and pain from an infection because pain from eruption will be pretty much constant and not too many things will make it better. It's more of a dull ache. Pain from infection will hurt all the time also, but brushing the area will hurt more, will feel a little better after you stop. And it's a different pain than an ache. Rinsing the area really well with warm salt water a few times a day will help clean it and help with the pain if it's from infection. On a side note, if it's infected because of a cavity, which can happen during eruption, then you need to see a dentist. There really isn't anything you can do at home to stop that pain.  

Infection

Usually if there is an infection, you might either have a bump on your gums, some swelling, or a bad taste in your mouth from the pus. The best way to know is to ask your dentist to take a look at the area.