How do you tell the difference between a wisdom tooth or dental abscess?

See dentist: This is not a distinction you should try to make yourself. In either case it will require intervention and a good professional opinion is in order.

See a dentist: Either way you need a dentist and that is their job to figure it out for you. A wisdom tooth can abcess so it could be both. Just so see a dentist and get it resolved.

Need to be seen: A wisdom tooth is a dental structure and and an abscess associated with a wisdom tooth is a dental abscess. A clinical examination with the appropriate x-rays will determine if the abscess is related to a wisdom tooth or possibly to another source.