diff --git a/kong/db/schema/init.lua b/kong/db/schema/init.lua
index 582dad32c588..899349ba75fe 100644
--- a/kong/db/schema/init.lua
+++ b/kong/db/schema/init.lua
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-local tablex       = require "pl.tablex"
 local pretty       = require "pl.pretty"
-local table_tools  = require "kong.tools.table"
 local cjson        = require "cjson"
 local new_tab      = require "table.new"
 local nkeys        = require "table.nkeys"
@@ -8,7 +6,16 @@ local is_reference = require "kong.pdk.vault".is_reference
 local json         = require "kong.db.schema.json"
 local cjson_safe   = require "cjson.safe"
 local deprecation  = require "kong.deprecation"
-local deepcompare  = require "pl.tablex".deepcompare
+
+
+local compare_no_order = require "pl.tablex".compare_no_order
+local deepcompare = require "pl.tablex".deepcompare
+
+
+local cycle_aware_deep_copy = require "kong.tools.table".cycle_aware_deep_copy
+local table_merge = require "kong.tools.table".table_merge
+local table_path = require "kong.tools.table".table_path
+local is_array = require "kong.tools.table".is_array
 
 
 local setmetatable = setmetatable
@@ -1027,7 +1034,7 @@ end
 local function handle_missing_field(field, value, opts)
   local no_defaults = opts and opts.no_defaults
   if field.default ~= nil and not no_defaults then
-    local copy = table_tools.cycle_aware_deep_copy(field.default)
+    local copy = cycle_aware_deep_copy(field.default)
     if (field.type == "array" or field.type == "set")
       and type(copy) == "table"
       and not getmetatable(copy)
@@ -1717,7 +1724,7 @@ function Schema:process_auto_fields(data, context, nulls, opts)
 
   local is_select = context == "select"
   if not is_select then
-    data = table_tools.cycle_aware_deep_copy(data)
+    data = cycle_aware_deep_copy(data)
   end
 
   local shorthand_fields = self.shorthand_fields
@@ -1738,7 +1745,7 @@ function Schema:process_auto_fields(data, context, nulls, opts)
           if new_values then
             for k, v in pairs(new_values) do
               if type(v) == "table" then
-                data[k] = tablex.merge(data[k] or {}, v, true)
+                data[k] = table_merge(data[k] or {}, v)
               else
                 data[k] = v
               end
@@ -1748,7 +1755,7 @@ function Schema:process_auto_fields(data, context, nulls, opts)
       end
 
       if is_select and sdata.translate_backwards and not(opts and opts.hide_shorthands) then
-        data[sname] = table_tools.table_path(data, sdata.translate_backwards)
+        data[sname] = table_path(data, sdata.translate_backwards)
       end
     end
     if has_errs then
@@ -2050,7 +2057,7 @@ function Schema:validate_immutable_fields(input, entity)
   local errors = {}
 
   for key, field in self:each_field(input) do
-    local compare = table_tools.is_array(input[key]) and tablex.compare_no_order or tablex.deepcompare
+    local compare = is_array(input[key]) and compare_no_order or deepcompare
 
     if field.immutable and entity[key] ~= nil and not compare(input[key], entity[key]) then
       errors[key] = validation_errors.IMMUTABLE
@@ -2409,7 +2416,7 @@ function Schema.new(definition, is_subschema)
     return nil, validation_errors.SCHEMA_NO_FIELDS
   end
 
-  local self = table_tools.cycle_aware_deep_copy(definition)
+  local self = cycle_aware_deep_copy(definition)
   setmetatable(self, Schema)
 
   local cache_key = self.cache_key
@@ -2467,7 +2474,7 @@ function Schema.new(definition, is_subschema)
     _cache[self.name].schema = self
   end
 
-  -- timestamp-irrelevant fields should not be a critial factor on entities to
+  -- timestamp-irrelevant fields should not be a critical factor on entities to
   -- be loaded or refreshed correctly. These fields, such as `ttl` and `updated_at`
   -- might be ignored during validation.
   -- unvalidated_fields is added for ignoring some fields, key in the table is the