Mistretta earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Trinity College in 1966, and completed her master's of science and doctoral degrees in biological sciences at Florida State University in 1968 and 1970, respectively.
[2] Mistretta became a tenured professor in 1991,[2] and founded the School of Dentistry's Oral Health Sciences PhD program in 1994.
[3] Mistretta remained program director until 2010, and was succeeded by Jan Hu.
[4] Mistretta also held the William R. Mann Professorship of Dentistry from 2003 to her retirement in 2021.
[5][6] After Mistretta's retirement, Yuji Mishina became Mann Professor.