diff --git a/quarkus/runtime/src/main/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/mappers/HealthPropertyMappers.java b/quarkus/runtime/src/main/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/mappers/HealthPropertyMappers.java
index 630fbf7aa98..4a5edd9a65f 100644
--- a/quarkus/runtime/src/main/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/mappers/HealthPropertyMappers.java
+++ b/quarkus/runtime/src/main/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/mappers/HealthPropertyMappers.java
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ final class HealthPropertyMappers {
     public static PropertyMapper<?>[] getHealthPropertyMappers() {
         return new PropertyMapper[] {
                 fromOption(HealthOptions.HEALTH_ENABLED)
-                        .to("quarkus.smallrye-health.extensions.enabled")
+                        // no need to map to a quarkus option, this option exists to
+                        // to control artifact / extension inclusion. Quarkus will default to enabled
                         .build()
         };
     }
diff --git a/quarkus/runtime/src/main/resources/application.properties b/quarkus/runtime/src/main/resources/application.properties
index e698033009a..1901e699790 100644
--- a/quarkus/runtime/src/main/resources/application.properties
+++ b/quarkus/runtime/src/main/resources/application.properties
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@ quarkus.http.root-path=/
 quarkus.application.name=Keycloak
 quarkus.banner.enabled=false
 
-# Disable health checks from extensions, since we provide our own (default is true)
-quarkus.smallrye-health.extensions.enabled=false
-
 # Enables metrics from other extensions if metrics is enabled
 quarkus.datasource.metrics.enabled=${quarkus.micrometer.enabled:false}
 
diff --git a/quarkus/runtime/src/test/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/test/ConfigurationTest.java b/quarkus/runtime/src/test/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/test/ConfigurationTest.java
index 30d99a2c14a..3bf160e2222 100644
--- a/quarkus/runtime/src/test/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/test/ConfigurationTest.java
+++ b/quarkus/runtime/src/test/java/org/keycloak/quarkus/runtime/configuration/test/ConfigurationTest.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.assertNull;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
 import static org.keycloak.quarkus.runtime.Environment.isWindows;
 
-import java.nio.file.FileSystem;
 import java.nio.file.FileSystems;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.Arrays;
@@ -207,7 +206,7 @@ public class ConfigurationTest extends AbstractConfigurationTest {
         assertEquals(MariaDBDialect.class.getName(), config.getConfigValue("kc.db-dialect").getValue());
         assertEquals("jdbc:mariadb:aurora://foo/bar?a=1&b=2", config.getConfigValue("quarkus.datasource.jdbc.url").getValue());
     }
-    
+
     @Test
     public void testExpansionDisabled() {
         ConfigArgsConfigSource.setCliArgs("--db=mysql");
@@ -431,12 +430,10 @@ public class ConfigurationTest extends AbstractConfigurationTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testResolveHealthOption() {
-        ConfigArgsConfigSource.setCliArgs("--health-enabled=true");
-        SmallRyeConfig config = createConfig();
-        assertEquals("true", config.getConfigValue("quarkus.smallrye-health.extensions.enabled").getValue());
         ConfigArgsConfigSource.setCliArgs("");
-        config = createConfig();
-        assertEquals("false", config.getConfigValue("quarkus.smallrye-health.extensions.enabled").getValue());
+        SmallRyeConfig config = createConfig();
+        // default to null when the extension is effectively removed
+        assertNull(config.getConfigValue("quarkus.smallrye-health.extensions.enabled").getValue());
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -521,8 +518,9 @@ public class ConfigurationTest extends AbstractConfigurationTest {
               .collect(Collectors.toSet());
 
         StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
-        for (String cache : maxCountCaches)
+        for (String cache : maxCountCaches) {
             sb.append(" --").append(CachingOptions.cacheMaxCountProperty(cache)).append("=").append(maxCount);
+        }
 
         String args = sb.toString();
         ConfigArgsConfigSource.setCliArgs(args.split(" "));