diff --git a/src/material/core/style/_sass-utils.scss b/src/material/core/style/_sass-utils.scss
index 413d341bd6a7..e944be17610e 100644
--- a/src/material/core/style/_sass-utils.scss
+++ b/src/material/core/style/_sass-utils.scss
@@ -10,9 +10,14 @@
 /// @content Content to output under the current selector, or root selector if there is no current
 ///     selector.
 @mixin current-selector-or-root($root: html) {
-  @at-root #{& or $root} {
+  @if & {
     @content;
   }
+  @else {
+    #{$root} {
+      @content;
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 /// A version of the standard `map.merge` function that takes a variable number of arguments.