Purpose: Determine the timeframe of bacterial penetration that occurs to the apex when obturation material (gutta percha) is exposed to bacteria for a set period of time (45 days) and to determine if bacterial penetration of the obturated root is influenced by the type of irrigant used during the final rinse (17% EDTA vs 2% Chlorhexidine vs full strength 5.25% NaOCl). Methods: Thirty-six extracted teeth, including six controls, were instrumented and irrigated with 5.25% NaOCl followed by a final rinse of either: 17% EDTA, 2% Chlorhexidine, or 5.25% NaOCl, and then obturated. Each root was suspended between two chambers: the coronal chamber inoculated with brain heart infusion broth and 〖10〗^8 colony-forming units of Enterococcus faecalis, the apical chamber with brain heart infusion broth. The latter was checked daily for turbidity, indicating bacterial leakage. Results: After excluding teeth with clear indications of experimental failure, 21 teeth were included in the analysis. Leakage rates were not significantly difference across the three groups (Chlorhexidine: 14%, EDTA: 67%, NaOCl: 50%; p-value=0.1581). Time to leakage was not significantly difference across the three groups (p-value=0.2470). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study it was shown that leakage occurs between 4-42 days and that there was no significant difference between the different solutions in preventing leakage.