diff --git a/changelog/20.0/20.0.0/summary.md b/changelog/20.0/20.0.0/summary.md
index cd3b9718503..863de8aefec 100644
--- a/changelog/20.0/20.0.0/summary.md
+++ b/changelog/20.0/20.0.0/summary.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
     - [Delete with Subquery Support](#delete-subquery)
   - **[Flag changes](#flag-changes)**
     - [`pprof-http` default change](#pprof-http-default)
+    - [New `healthcheck-dial-concurrency` flag](#healthcheck-dial-concurrency-flag)
 - **[Minor Changes](#minor-changes)**
   - **[New Stats](#new-stats)**
     - [VTTablet Query Cache Hits and Misses](#vttablet-query-cache-hits-and-misses)
@@ -72,6 +73,10 @@ The `--pprof-http` flag, which was introduced in v19 with a default of `true`, h
 This makes HTTP `pprof` endpoints now an *opt-in* feature, rather than opt-out.
 To continue enabling these endpoints, explicitly set `--pprof-http` when starting up Vitess components.
 
+#### <a id="healthcheck-dial-concurrency-flag"/>New `--healthcheck-dial-concurrency` flag
+
+The new `--healthcheck-dial-concurrency` flag defines the maximum number of healthcheck connections that can open concurrently. This limit is to avoid hitting Go runtime panics on deployments watching enough tablets [to hit the runtime's maximum thread limit of `10000`](https://pkg.go.dev/runtime/debug#SetMaxThreads) due to blocking network syscalls. This flag applies to `vtcombo`, `vtctld` and `vtgate` only and a value less than the runtime max thread limit _(`10000`)_ is recommended.
+
 ## <a id="minor-changes"/>Minor Changes
 
 ### <a id="new-stats"/>New Stats
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
index 26e145e6930..a508b78dc80 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtcombo.txt
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ Flags:
       --grpc_server_keepalive_timeout duration                           After having pinged for keepalive check, the server waits for a duration of Timeout and if no activity is seen even after that the connection is closed. (default 10s)
       --grpc_use_effective_callerid                                      If set, and SSL is not used, will set the immediate caller id from the effective caller id's principal.
       --health_check_interval duration                                   Interval between health checks (default 20s)
+      --healthcheck-dial-concurrency int                                 Maximum concurrency of new healthcheck connections. This should be less than the golang max thread limit of 10000. (default 1024)
       --healthcheck_retry_delay duration                                 health check retry delay (default 2ms)
       --healthcheck_timeout duration                                     the health check timeout period (default 1m0s)
       --heartbeat_enable                                                 If true, vttablet records (if master) or checks (if replica) the current time of a replication heartbeat in the sidecar database's heartbeat table. The result is used to inform the serving state of the vttablet via healthchecks.
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
index da60dfeb3b1..e0f552d2b00 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ Flags:
       --grpc_server_keepalive_enforcement_policy_permit_without_stream   gRPC server permit client keepalive pings even when there are no active streams (RPCs)
       --grpc_server_keepalive_time duration                              After a duration of this time, if the server doesn't see any activity, it pings the client to see if the transport is still alive. (default 10s)
       --grpc_server_keepalive_timeout duration                           After having pinged for keepalive check, the server waits for a duration of Timeout and if no activity is seen even after that the connection is closed. (default 10s)
+      --healthcheck-dial-concurrency int                                 Maximum concurrency of new healthcheck connections. This should be less than the golang max thread limit of 10000. (default 1024)
   -h, --help                                                             help for vtctld
       --jaeger-agent-host string                                         host and port to send spans to. if empty, no tracing will be done
       --keep_logs duration                                               keep logs for this long (using ctime) (zero to keep forever)
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
index bd9849cfd71..c9431fb43db 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtgate.txt
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ Flags:
       --grpc_server_keepalive_time duration                              After a duration of this time, if the server doesn't see any activity, it pings the client to see if the transport is still alive. (default 10s)
       --grpc_server_keepalive_timeout duration                           After having pinged for keepalive check, the server waits for a duration of Timeout and if no activity is seen even after that the connection is closed. (default 10s)
       --grpc_use_effective_callerid                                      If set, and SSL is not used, will set the immediate caller id from the effective caller id's principal.
+      --healthcheck-dial-concurrency int                                 Maximum concurrency of new healthcheck connections. This should be less than the golang max thread limit of 10000. (default 1024)
       --healthcheck_retry_delay duration                                 health check retry delay (default 2ms)
       --healthcheck_timeout duration                                     the health check timeout period (default 1m0s)
   -h, --help                                                             help for vtgate
diff --git a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
index 6b30a794893..f37c9ad1d8b 100644
--- a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
+++ b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/google/safehtml/template"
 	"github.com/google/safehtml/template/uncheckedconversions"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+	"golang.org/x/sync/semaphore"
 
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/netutil"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/stats"
@@ -87,6 +88,9 @@ var (
 	// refreshKnownTablets tells us whether to process all tablets or only new tablets.
 	refreshKnownTablets = true
 
+	// healthCheckDialConcurrency tells us how many healthcheck connections can be opened to tablets at once. This should be less than the golang max thread limit of 10000.
+	healthCheckDialConcurrency int64 = 1024
+
 	// How much to sleep between each check.
 	waitAvailableTabletInterval = 100 * time.Millisecond
 
@@ -168,6 +172,7 @@ func registerWebUIFlags(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	fs.StringVar(&TabletURLTemplateString, "tablet_url_template", "http://{{.GetTabletHostPort}}", "Format string describing debug tablet url formatting. See getTabletDebugURL() for how to customize this.")
 	fs.DurationVar(&refreshInterval, "tablet_refresh_interval", 1*time.Minute, "Tablet refresh interval.")
 	fs.BoolVar(&refreshKnownTablets, "tablet_refresh_known_tablets", true, "Whether to reload the tablet's address/port map from topo in case they change.")
+	fs.Int64Var(&healthCheckDialConcurrency, "healthcheck-dial-concurrency", 1024, "Maximum concurrency of new healthcheck connections. This should be less than the golang max thread limit of 10000.")
 	ParseTabletURLTemplateFromFlag()
 }
 
@@ -287,6 +292,8 @@ type HealthCheckImpl struct {
 	subscribers map[chan *TabletHealth]struct{}
 	// loadTablets trigger is used to immediately load a new primary tablet when the current one has been demoted
 	loadTabletsTrigger chan struct{}
+	// healthCheckDialSem is used to limit how many healthcheck connections can be opened to tablets at once.
+	healthCheckDialSem *semaphore.Weighted
 }
 
 // NewHealthCheck creates a new HealthCheck object.
@@ -321,6 +328,7 @@ func NewHealthCheck(ctx context.Context, retryDelay, healthCheckTimeout time.Dur
 		cell:               localCell,
 		retryDelay:         retryDelay,
 		healthCheckTimeout: healthCheckTimeout,
+		healthCheckDialSem: semaphore.NewWeighted(healthCheckDialConcurrency),
 		healthByAlias:      make(map[tabletAliasString]*tabletHealthCheck),
 		healthData:         make(map[KeyspaceShardTabletType]map[tabletAliasString]*TabletHealth),
 		healthy:            make(map[KeyspaceShardTabletType][]*TabletHealth),
@@ -828,7 +836,7 @@ func (hc *HealthCheckImpl) TabletConnection(alias *topodata.TabletAlias, target
 		// TODO: test that throws this error
 		return nil, vterrors.Errorf(vtrpc.Code_NOT_FOUND, "tablet: %v is either down or nonexistent", alias)
 	}
-	return thc.Connection(), nil
+	return thc.Connection(hc), nil
 }
 
 // getAliasByCell should only be called while holding hc.mu
diff --git a/go/vt/discovery/tablet_health_check.go b/go/vt/discovery/tablet_health_check.go
index 24496155e74..fc3ab242210 100644
--- a/go/vt/discovery/tablet_health_check.go
+++ b/go/vt/discovery/tablet_health_check.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package discovery
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"net"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
@@ -33,12 +34,16 @@ import (
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vttablet/queryservice"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vttablet/tabletconn"
 
+	"google.golang.org/grpc"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/proto/query"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/proto/topodata"
 )
 
+// withDialerContextOnce ensures grpc.WithDialContext() is added once to the options.
+var withDialerContextOnce sync.Once
+
 // tabletHealthCheck maintains the health status of a tablet. A map of this
 // structure is maintained in HealthCheck.
 type tabletHealthCheck struct {
@@ -122,8 +127,8 @@ func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) setServingState(serving bool, reason string) {
 }
 
 // stream streams healthcheck responses to callback.
-func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) stream(ctx context.Context, callback func(*query.StreamHealthResponse) error) error {
-	conn := thc.Connection()
+func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) stream(ctx context.Context, hc *HealthCheckImpl, callback func(*query.StreamHealthResponse) error) error {
+	conn := thc.Connection(hc)
 	if conn == nil {
 		// This signals the caller to retry
 		return nil
@@ -136,14 +141,34 @@ func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) stream(ctx context.Context, callback func(*query.S
 	return err
 }
 
-func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) Connection() queryservice.QueryService {
+func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) Connection(hc *HealthCheckImpl) queryservice.QueryService {
 	thc.connMu.Lock()
 	defer thc.connMu.Unlock()
-	return thc.connectionLocked()
+	return thc.connectionLocked(hc)
+}
+
+func healthCheckDialerFactory(hc *HealthCheckImpl) func(ctx context.Context, addr string) (net.Conn, error) {
+	return func(ctx context.Context, addr string) (net.Conn, error) {
+		// Limit the number of healthcheck connections opened in parallel to avoid high OS-thread
+		// usage due to blocking networking syscalls (eg: DNS lookups, TCP connection opens,
+		// etc). Without this limit it is possible for vtgates watching >10k tablets to hit
+		// the panic: 'runtime: program exceeds 10000-thread limit'.
+		if err := hc.healthCheckDialSem.Acquire(ctx, 1); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		defer hc.healthCheckDialSem.Release(1)
+		var dialer net.Dialer
+		return dialer.DialContext(ctx, "tcp", addr)
+	}
 }
 
-func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) connectionLocked() queryservice.QueryService {
+func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) connectionLocked(hc *HealthCheckImpl) queryservice.QueryService {
 	if thc.Conn == nil {
+		withDialerContextOnce.Do(func() {
+			grpcclient.RegisterGRPCDialOptions(func(opts []grpc.DialOption) ([]grpc.DialOption, error) {
+				return append(opts, grpc.WithContextDialer(healthCheckDialerFactory(hc))), nil
+			})
+		})
 		conn, err := tabletconn.GetDialer()(thc.Tablet, grpcclient.FailFast(true))
 		if err != nil {
 			thc.LastError = err
@@ -272,7 +297,7 @@ func (thc *tabletHealthCheck) checkConn(hc *HealthCheckImpl) {
 		}()
 
 		// Read stream health responses.
-		err := thc.stream(streamCtx, func(shr *query.StreamHealthResponse) error {
+		err := thc.stream(streamCtx, hc, func(shr *query.StreamHealthResponse) error {
 			// We received a message. Reset the back-off.
 			retryDelay = hc.retryDelay
 			// Don't block on send to avoid deadlocks.
diff --git a/go/vt/grpcclient/client.go b/go/vt/grpcclient/client.go
index b2ef0d4fb28..7524298514e 100644
--- a/go/vt/grpcclient/client.go
+++ b/go/vt/grpcclient/client.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ package grpcclient
 import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	grpc_middleware "github.com/grpc-ecosystem/go-grpc-middleware"
@@ -39,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
+	grpcDialOptionsMu     sync.Mutex
 	keepaliveTime         = 10 * time.Second
 	keepaliveTimeout      = 10 * time.Second
 	initialConnWindowSize int
@@ -86,6 +88,8 @@ var grpcDialOptions []func(opts []grpc.DialOption) ([]grpc.DialOption, error)
 
 // RegisterGRPCDialOptions registers an implementation of AuthServer.
 func RegisterGRPCDialOptions(grpcDialOptionsFunc func(opts []grpc.DialOption) ([]grpc.DialOption, error)) {
+	grpcDialOptionsMu.Lock()
+	defer grpcDialOptionsMu.Unlock()
 	grpcDialOptions = append(grpcDialOptions, grpcDialOptionsFunc)
 }
 
@@ -134,12 +138,14 @@ func DialContext(ctx context.Context, target string, failFast FailFast, opts ...
 
 	newopts = append(newopts, opts...)
 	var err error
+	grpcDialOptionsMu.Lock()
 	for _, grpcDialOptionInitializer := range grpcDialOptions {
 		newopts, err = grpcDialOptionInitializer(newopts)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Fatalf("There was an error initializing client grpc.DialOption: %v", err)
 		}
 	}
+	grpcDialOptionsMu.Unlock()
 
 	newopts = append(newopts, interceptors()...)